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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

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Series  xxxvii  No.  i 

JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNIVERSITY  STUDIES 

IN 

Historical  and  Political  Science 

under  the  Direction  of  the 

Departments  of  History,  Political  Economy,  and 
Political  Science 


UNEMPLOYMENT  AND  AMERICAN 
TRADE  UNIONS 


BY 

D.  P.  SMELSER,  PH.D. 
Captain,  Quartermaster  Corps,  A.  E.  F. 


BALTIMORE 
THE  JOHNS   HOPKINS   PRESS 


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UNEMPLOYMENT  AND  AMERICAN 
TRADE   UNIONS 


Series  xxxvii  No.  i 

JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNIVERSITY  STUDIES 

IN 

Historical  and  Political  Science 

Under  the  Direction  of  the 

Departments  of  History,  Political  Economy,  and 
Political  Science 


UNEMPLOYMENT  AND  AMERICAN 
TRADE  UNIONS 


BY 

D.  p.  SMELSER,  Ph.D. 
Captain,  Quartermaster  Corps,  A.  E.  F. 


BALTIMORE 

THE  JOHNS   HOPKINS   PRESS 

1919 


PREFACE 

This  monograph  had  its  origin  in  an  investigation  carried 
on  by  the  author  while  a  member  of  the  Economic  Semi- 
nary of  the  Johns  Hopkins  University.  The  principal 
sources  of  information  have  been  the  trade-union  publica- 
tions contained  in  the  Johns  Hopkins  Library.  Document- 
ary evidence  was  also  supplemented  by  numerous  personal 
interviews  with  trade-union  officials. 

The  author  wishes  to  express  his  appreciation  of  the  help- 
ful criticism  and  advice  received  from  Professor  J.  H.  Hol- 
lander and  Professor  G.  E.  Barnett. 

D.  P.  S. 


10         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

ized  wage  earners,  to  consider  briefly  the  data  which  appear 
to  be  the  most  reliable,  and  to  attempt  to  determine  the  rela- 
tive volume  and  character  of  unemployment  in  some  of 
the  principal  trades,  in  order  to  show  how  different  the 
problem  is  in  the  various  trades  and  to  make  clear  that  con- 
ditions determine,  to  a  great  extent,  the  methods  which  each 
trade  union  employs  to  solve  it. 

The  sources  of  statistical  information  as  to  unemployment 
among  trade  unionists  are  the  publications  of  the  state  de- 
partments of  labor  and  of  the  trade  unions.  While  refer- 
ence will  be  made  to  all  the  data  which  have  been  collected, 
only  those  data  which  can  be  more  or  less  successfully  uti- 
lized in  the  study  will  be  particularly  described. 

The  New  York  Department  of  Labor  has  collected  since 
March,  1897,  statistics  of  unemployment  among  the  trade 
unionists  of  that  State.  From  1897  to  1914  it  collected  semi- 
annually, from  all  the  trade  unions,  information  as  to  the 
number  of  members  employed  and  unemployed  on  the  last 
working  days  of  March  and  September,  the  causes  of  such 
unemployment,  the  number  of  members  idle  throughout  the 
first  and  third  quarters  of  the  year,  and  the  number  of  days 
which  each  member  worked  during  these  periods.  The 
supply  of  this  information  was  made  compulsory  by  law. 
Since  December,  1901,  the  New  York  Department  has 
selected  certain  local  unions  in  each  trade  and  industry  from 
which  it  has  secured  monthly  returns  as  to  unemployment. 
It  has  attempted  to  select  local  unions  which  have  reliable 
and  intelligent  secretaries,  to  have  each  trade  represented 
in  proportion  to  the  number  of  workmen  engaged  in  each 
class,  and  to  maintain  the  same  proportionate  representation 
from  month  to  month  so  that  the  data  may  be  comparable. 

Both  classes  of  statistics  are  of  doubtful  value.  The 
secretaries  of  the  local  unions  in  many  cases  had  no  means 
by  which  they  could  determine  the  actual  number  employed 
and  unemployed,  and  consequently  they  resorted  to  rough 
estimates.  Further,  there  was  a  tendency  to  exaggerate  the 
amount  of  unemployment  in  the  hope  that  this  would  favor- 


STATISTICS   OF   UNEMPLOYMENT 


II 


ably  affect  public  opinion.  These  defects  were  especially 
inherent  in  the  data  collected  semi-annually  from  all  unions, 
and  for  this  reason  the  collection  of  this  class  of  data  was 
discontinued  in  1914.  The  data  relating  to  selected  unions 
are  defective  in  many  respects,  but  it  is  thought  that,  while 
they  are  of  no  great  value  as  regards  the  actual  amount  of 
unemployment,  they  are  of  considerable  importance  in 
making  apparent  the  movements  in  the  state  of  employment 
from  month  to  month  and  from  year  to  year.  It  is  for  this 
reason  that  a  summary  of  the  data  thus  collected  is  given 
below.  It  may  be  well  to  state  that  these  statistics  represent 
about  235  local  unions  with  a  membership  of  150,000,  which 
is  about  25  per  cent  of  the  trade-union  membership  of  the 
State. 


State  of  Employment  of  Organized  Labor  in  New  York  State, 
AS  Reported  by  Representative  Unions,  1901  to  1915 

(From  Bulletins  of  the  New  York  Department  of  Labor) 


Percentage  of  Members 

Unemployed  on  Last  Working  Day  of 

Jan. 

Feb. 

Mar. 

Apr. 

May 

June 

July 

Aug. 

Sept. 

Oct. 

Nov. 

Dec. 

1902 

20.9 

18.7 

17-3   15-3 

14.0 

14-5 

15-6 

7-1 

6.3    II.2 

14-3 

22.2 

1903 

295 

17.8 

17.6!  17.3 

20.2 

23.1 

17.8 

154 

94  II-7 

16.4 

23.1 

1904 

25.« 

21.6 

27.1    17.0 

15-9 

13-7 

14.8 

13-7 

12.0 

10.8 

II. I 

19.6 

1905 

22.5 

19.4 

19.2   II. 8 

8.3 

9-1 

8.0 

7.2 

5-9 

5.0 

6.1 

II. I 

1906 

15.0 

15-3 

11.6     7.3 

7.0 

6.3 

7.6 

5.« 

6.3I    6.9 

7.6 

154 

1907 

21.5 

20.1 

18.3!  10. 1 

10.5 

8.1 

8..S 

12. 1 

12.31  18.5 

22.0 

32.7 

1908 

36-9 

37-5 

37-5 

33-9 

32.2 

30.2 

26.8 

24.6 

24.61  23.1 

21.5 

28.0 

1909 

29-3 

26.5 

23.0 

20.3 

I7.I 

174 

139 

11.9 

14-5'  13-7 

13-3 

20.6 

I9I0 

24-5 

22.4 

22.6 

16.0 

14-5 

154 

19.4 

22.3 

12.5 

15-0 

17.5 

27.3 

I9II 

26.7 

24.8 

25.b 

21.3 

27.2 

22.9 

15-5 

11.7 

II. 2 

11.6 

20.0 

34-2 

I9I2 

25.« 

17.6 

18.8'  13.3 

20.1 

22.8 

21. 1 

91 

5-9 

74 

15-3 

30.1 

I9I3 

3«.2 

33-4 

21.8   21.7 

22.9 

22.2 

20.8 

19.6 

16.2 

193 

27.8 

40.0 

I9I4 

32.3 

30.7 

28.3  23.6 

22.7 

25-5 

32.5 

30.3 

24.3  24.9 

35.« 

35-7 

I9I5 

40.1 

32.2 

27.4  26.4 

31-8 

25-5 

26.0 

19.31  14.9  12.7 

17.6 

21.9 

The  table  clearly  indicates  the  fluctuations  in  employment 
from  month  to  month  and  from  year  to  year.  During  1902, 
1903,  and  1904  the  average  percentage  of  unemployment  was 
around  13,  but  gradually  decreased  until  the  depression  of 
1907  and  1908  when  it  sharply  rose,  gradually  dropping  how- 
ever after  the  spring  of  1909.     During  1910  and  191 1  the 


12         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

percentage  was  fairly  constant,  but  there  was  a  25  per  cent 
decrease  in  unemployment  in  1912 ;  for  several  of  the  months 
the  percentages  were  lower  than  they  had  been  for  five 
or  six  years.  However,  after  November,  1912,  the  percent- 
ages, if  we  disregard  seasonal  fluctuations,  gradually  rose 
until  the  fall  of  191 5. 

It  will  be  noted  that  during  the  past  seven  years  an  aver- 
age of  between  20  and  25  per  cent  of  the  workmen  in  the 
selected  unions  have  been  returned  as  unemployed  on  the 
last  working  day  of  each  month.  The  minimum  percentage 
for  the  period  was  5.6  in  October,  1905,  while  the  maximum 
was  40.1  in  January,  191 5.  The  instances  in  which  the 
monthly  percentage  was  under  10  number  less  than  twenty- 
five.  The  seasonal  fluctuations  are  clearly  indicated  in  the 
table.  January  reports  the  highest  percentage  of  the  year, 
after  which  the  percentage  drops  gradually  to  September 
and  October,  in  which  months  it  appears  that  there  is  less 
unemployment  than  at  any  other  time.  November  and  De- 
cember show  very  high  percentages. 

The  Massachusetts  Bureau  of  Statistics,  since  March, 
1908,  has  collected  data  as  to  unemplyoment  from  trade 
unions  situated  in  that  State.  This  information  is  compar- 
able, in  many  respects,  to  that  collected  by  the  New  York 
Department.  In  Massachusetts  information  as  to  unemploy- 
ment is  secured  only  from  those  unions  which  desire  to  re- 
port their  working  conditions.  However,  the  majority  of 
the  trade-union  membership  is  represented  in  the  returns. 
Thus,  for  the  quarter  ending  September  30,  191 5,  returns 
were  made  by  1052  local  unions  representing  175.754  organ- 
ized wage  earners,  or  approximately  75  per  cent  of  the 
trade-union  membership  of  the  State.^  Monthly  returns  are 
not  made  by  any  of  the  unions,  reports  being  made  only 
for  the  last  working  days  of  the  four  quarters  of  the  year 
by  the  secretaries  of  the  local  unions.  The  returns  are 
scrutinized  by  the  bureau's  experts  and  if  any  errors  are 
apparent  the  schedules  are  returned  for  correction. 

1  The  Thirty-first  Quarterly  Report  on  Unemployment  in  Massa- 
chusetts :  Quarter  ending  September  30,  1915,  p.  i. 


STATISTICS   OF   UNEMPLOYMENT 


13 


The  following  table  shows  the  percentage  of  members 
unemployed  at  the  end  of  each  quarter  from  March,  1908, 
to  December,  191 5  : 


State  of  Employment  of  Organized  Labor  in  Massachusetts 
(From  Bulletins  of  the  Massachusetts  Bureau  of  Statistics) 


Percentage  of  Members  Unemployed. 

March  31 

June  30 

September  30 

December  31 

1908 

17.9 

14.4 

10.6 

139 

1909 

II.4 

6.4 

4.8 

9-4 

I9I0 

7-1 

7.0 

5-6 

10.2 

I9II 

10.4 

6.6 

5.6 

9-7 

I9I2 

14.1 

5-3 

47 

91 

I9I3 

II-3 

6.4 

6.8 

10.4 

I9I4 

12.9 

9-9 

II. 0 

18.3 

I9I5 

16.6 

10.6 

7.0 

8.6 

The  striking  fact  disclosed  by  these  figures  is  their  great 
disparity  with  the  New  York  data.  When  idleness  due  to 
other  causes  than  lack  of  work,  lack  of  material,  and  the 
state  of  the  weather  has  been  eliminated,  the  averages  of 
the  New  York  and  Massachusetts  percentages  for  the  last 
working  days  of  the  four  quarters  of  the  year,  for  the 
period  1908-1915,  are  19.2  per  cent  and  7.5  per  cent  re- 
spectively. The  most  plausible  explanation  of  this  differ- 
ence is  the  larger  proportion  of  highly  seasonal  workmen 
represented  in  the  New  York  data.  In  the  reports  for  June 
30,  191 5,  for  example,  the  building  trades  represent  more 
than  25  per  cent  of  the  workmen  included  in  the  New  York 
report,^  while  in  the  Massachusetts  figures  for  that  date 
the  returns  for  the  building  trades  constitute  less  than  20 
per  cent  of  the  total  figures.^  But  what  appear  to  be  of 
even  greater  importance  are  the  different  proportions  of 
the  totals  represented  by  garment  workers.  In  the  returns 
for  June,  1915,  the  garment  workers  constituted  21  per  cent 

2  Idleness  of  Organized  Wage  Earners  in  the  First-half  of  1915, 
Bulletin  of  the  New  York  Department  of  Labor,  whole  no.  jj),  P-  ii- 

2  Calculated  from  table  in  Thirteenth  Quarterly  Report  on  Unem- 
ployment in  Massachusetts,  June  30,  1915,  p.  11. 


14         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

of  those  included  in  the  New  York  returns,*  while  in  the 
Massachusetts  data  for  that  date  this  class  of  workmen 
formed  less  than  3  per  cent  of  the  members  reporting.^ 
Unemployment  in  the  building  trades  and  in  the  garment 
industry  of  New  York  is  twice  as  great  as  the  average  in 
other  trades  taken  together.  Thus,  the  average  of  the 
monthly  percentages  of  unemployment  in  the  building  trades 
from  1907  to  1914  in  New  York  was  29,  and  that  for  the 
garment  industry  was  approximately  the  same,  while  the 
average  of  all  industries  was  only  22  per  cent.  When  it  is 
remembered  that  the  average  of  all  industries  is  weighted 
in  proportion  to  the  relative  representation  of  trades,  and 
that  the  garment  workers  and  building  trades  mechanics 
constitute  more  than  50  per  cent  of  the  total,  the  efifect  of 
the  great  amount  of  unemployment  in  these  two  industries 
upon  the  average  percentage  is  easily  seen. 

The  New  Hampshire  Bureau  of  Labor  is  the  only  other 
state  bureau  which  has  collected  statistics  of  unemployment 
among  organized  wage  earners,  and  these  statistics  are  prac- 
tically valueless  as  they  give  only  the  percentages  of  mem- 
bers unemployed  throughout  the  first  and  second  quarters 
of  191 5.  It  seems  that  the  secretaries  of  the  local  unions, 
in  most  cases,  were  unable  to  accurately  report  such  infor- 
mation. 

A  number  of  the  American  trade  unions  have  attempted 
to  collect  statistics  of  unemployment  of  their  members. 
Generally  these  attempts  have  failed,  either  because  the  sec- 
retaries of  the  local  unions  refused  to  report  conditions 
accurately,  or  because  the  secretary  of  the  national  union 
failed  to  recognize  the  importance  of  the  statistical  infor- 
mation as  to  unemployment.  The  unions  have  the  oppor- 
tunity of  collecting  such  material  at  small  expense.  In  all 
unions  the  secretaries  of  the  subordinate  branches  make 
monthly  reports  to  headquarters  concerning  various  sub- 

*  Bulletin  of  the  New  York  Department  of  Labor,  whole  no.  73, 
p.  II. 

s  Calculated  from  table  in  Thirteenth  Quarterly  Report  on  Unem- 
ployment in  Massachusetts,  June  30,  1915,  p.  11. 


STATISTICS   OF   UNEMPLOYMENT  I5 

jects,  and  where  statistical  information  as  to  unemployment 
has  been  collected  these  monthly  reports  have  generally  been 
utilized  for  this  purpose. 

The  American  Federation  of  Labor  collected  from  1899 
to  1908  data  relating  to  unemployment  among  members  of 
its  affiliated  unions.  The  number  of  workmen  represented 
in  the  returns  varied  as  much  as  Boo  per  cent  from  one 
month  to  another  in  the  same  year,  and  as  the  reports  were 
made  by  the  secretaries  of  the  national  unions  it  is  obvious 
that  the  data  secured  were  not  accurate.  For  this  reason 
the  collection  of  this  information  was  discontinued  in  1909. 

The  Wisconsin  State  Federation  of  Labor  has  collected 
statistics  of  unemployment  from  its  affiliated  unions  since 
1912.  The  information  collected  in  1912  was  worthless 
and  that  for  the  two  succeeding  years  was  far  from  satis- 
factory. In  1 91 3  the  affiliated  unions  were  requested  to 
report  the  percentages  of  members  unemployed  on  Septem- 
ber I.  Returns  were  made  by  243  local  unions  with  a 
total  membership  of  19,921.  Of  these,  1436  members,  or 
^.2  per  cent,  were  reported  as  idle.®  This  percentage  is  but 
four-tenths  of  one  per  cent  higher  than  that  of  Massachu- 
setts for  September  30  of  the  same  year,  while  it  is  12.8 
lower  than  the  New  York  percentage  for  August  31. 

A  few  unions  have  realized  the  benefits  accruing  from  the 
collection  of  statistical  information  as  to  unemployment  and 
have  accordingly  provided  in  their  constitutions  that  the 
local  union  secretaries  shall  report  the  state  of  employment 
at  specified  periods.  For  example,  the  Potters,'^  Plumbers,* 
Boilermakers,®  Iron  Molders,^^  Lithographers,^^  Elevator 
Constructors,^-   and   Metal   Polishers^^   require   the   secre- 

8  Labor  Conditions  in  Wisconsin :  Second  Report  by  the  Execu- 
tive Board  of  the  Wisconsin  State  Federation  of  Labor,  July  i, 
1914,  p.  15. 

■^  Constitution,  1913,  sec.  132. 
s  Constitution,  1913,  sec.  36. 

9  Constitution  for  Local  Unions,  1914,  art.  2,  sec.  6. 
"^^  Constitution,  1912,  art.  5,  sec.  i. 

1''  Constitution  for  Local  Unions,  1913,  art.  5,  sec.  i. 
12  Constitution,  1910,  art.  6,  sec.  3. 
^3  Constitution,  1913,  art.  32,  sec.  i. 


l6         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

taries  of  their  subordinate  unions  to  report  either  monthly 
or  quarterly  the  number  of  members  employed  and  unem- 
ployed. But  little  attention  is  paid  by  the  secretaries  to 
these  provisions,  and  in  the  unions  where  the  information 
is  reported  it  is  neither  used  by  the  general  secretaries  nor 
compiled  for  publication. 

The  Painters,  Paperhangers,  and  Decorators  at  their  con- 
vention in  191 3  provided  that  an  official  "  time  book  "  should 
be  issued  to  each  member  of  the  union,  who  was  to  record 
in  it  all  time  lost  through  unemployment  and  the  causes  of 
such  idleness,  and  report  quarterly  to  his  local  union.  The 
secretaries  of  the  subordinate  branches  were  instructed  to 
compile  these  reports  and  send  them  to  the  national  union.^* 
It  was  thought  that  much  valuable  information  could  thus 
be  secured.  Considerable  light  would  have  been  thrown 
upon  the  question  of  variation  in  unemployment  among 
localities.  However,  it  was  found  impossible  to  secure  the 
desired  information  from  the  members  except  through  a 
system  of  fines,  which,  of  course,  would  have  had  a  tendency 
to  produce  inaccurate  statistics.  Consequently,  these  time 
books  are  used  in  only  a  few  unions.^^  It  is  understood 
that  the  Chicago  local  union  has  collected  statistics  of  unem- 
ployment from  its  members  for  five  or  six  years.  It  was 
reported  at  the  convention  in  1913  that  the  data  collected 
in  the  two  previous  years  indicated  that  the  average  painter 
lost  ninety-eight  working  days  each  year  through  inability 
to  secure  work.^® 

The  Glass  Bottle  Blowers  have  collected  and  privately 
published  statistical  information  as  to  unemployment  among 
its  members  for  several  years.  But  in  consequence  of  the 
fact  that  no  distinction  is  made  between  the  members  totally 
unemployed  and  those  working  as  "  spare  men  "  this  infor- 
mation is  of  little  value.  There  is  also  available  in  the 
monthly  journals  of  the  Wood  Carvers  data  as  to  the  num- 
ber  of   members   employed   and   unemployed   on   the  last 

^*  Constitution,  1913,  sec.  238. 

*6  Interview  with  General  Secretary  Skemp,  August,  1915. 

"  Proceedings,  1913,  p.  635. 


STATISTICS   OF   UNEMPLOYMENT  I7 

working  day  of  the  month.  Percentages  of  unemployment 
have  been  calculated  for  the  period  1909-1915,  and  there  is 
little  fluctuation  in  them  from  month  to  month  and  from 
year  to  year,  the  rate  of  unemployment  ranging  between 
twenty  and  twenty-five  per  cent.  This  would  seem  to  indi- 
cate that  the  returns  are  not  accurate  but  mere  estimates  of 
the  secretaries. 

The  only  statistics  of  unemployment  collected  by  the  trade 
unions  which  it  was  possible  to  utilize  in  this  study  are  the 
data  collected  by  the  Bricklayers,  Masons  and  Plasterers 
from  1882  to  191 1,  by  the  Pattern  Makers  from  April,  1907, 
to  December,  1916,  and  by  the  Flint  Glass  Workers  from 
1907  to  1915. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  so  little  attention  has  been  given 
to  the  collection  of  data  as  to  unemployment  in  the  United 
States  before  1900,  it  is  rather  surprising  to  find  that  the 
Bricklayers'  Union,  organized  in  1865,  collected  semi- 
annually statistics  of  unemployment  from  1882  to  1911  and 
monthly  thereafter.^'^  These  statistics  are  based  upon  the 
reports  by  the  local  secretaries  of  the  number  of  members 
employed  and  unemployed.  Not  all  of  the  unions  reported, 
as  some  were  always  in  a  state  of  disorganization  or  were 
involved  in  labor  disputes ;  but  the  reports  are  fairly  repre- 
sentative of  the  entire  membership,  and  the  average  per- 
centage of  the  membership  included  in  the  data  for  the 
period  1882-1911  is  79.1.  There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that 
those  unions  which  are  not  represented  in  the  returns,  ex- 
cept the  few  on  strike,  had  more  or  less  unemployment  than 
the  average  of  those  reporting.  The  returns  unfortunately 
include  members  who  were  reported  as  unemployed  on  ac- 
count of  labor  disputes  and  illness.  Of  course  the  inclusion 
of  these  members  has  produced  high  percentages  of  unem- 
ployment. 

Another  important  question  is  whether  the  secretaries 
correctly  reported  the  number  of  the  unemployed.     Secre- 

iT  The  data  collected  since  191 1  have  not  been  compiled,  the  secre- 
tary merely  using  the  information.  (Interview  with  Secretary  Dob- 
son,  August,  1915.) 


1 8  UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE    UNIONS 

taries  of  unions  having  less  than  fifty  members  could  easily 
determine  the  number  of  unemployed,  since  they  generally 
knew  the  places  where  members  were  at  work  ;  but  in  unions 
with  a  larger  membership — many  of  the  local  unions  have 
from  IOC  to  7000  members — the  secretaries  were  unable  to 
make  exact  returns  from  their  own  knowledge.  In  such 
cases  the  secretaries  either  based  their  returns  upon  rough 
estimates  or  upon  the  reports  of  the  stewards.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  determine  the  extent  to  which  the  stewards'  reports 
were  used.  It  would  not  have  been  difficult  to  ascertain  the 
exact  number  of  members  employed  on  a  given  day  if  these 
reports  had  been  used,  because  each  week  the  stewards  on 
the  various  jobs  reported  the  names  of  all  members  work- 
ing on  particular  days.  The  reports  are  supposed  to  give 
the  number  of  members  employed  and  unemployed  on  the 
last  working  days  of  June  and  December ;  but  it  is  under- 
stood that  frequently  the  returns  were  based  upon  the  con- 
dition of  trade  slightly  before  and  after  these  dates.  These 
data  are  presented  in  the  following  table,  principally  because 
they  represent  the  only  continuous  record  respecting  unem- 
ployment in  the  United  States  before  1897. 


Unemployment   of   Members   of  the   Bricklayers,   Masons   and 

Plasterers 

(From  Semi-Annual  Reports  of  the  General  Secretary) 


Percentage  of  Members 

Percentage  of  Members 

Year 

Unemployed 

Year 

Unemployed 

June           1       December 

June 

December 

1882 

lO.O 

20.2 

1897 

41.4 

51-7 

1883 

4-6 

26.4 

1898 

38.8 

47.6 

1884 

II. I 

48.6 

1899 

18.2 

31.2 

1885 

20.5 

33-6 

1900 

29.8 

34-7 

1886 

15-1 

36.7 

I9OI 

8.8 

20.9 

1887 

6.0 

37- 1 

1902 

10.5 

23.8 

1888 

15-2 

37-3 

1903 

II-5 

45-8 

1889 

13-3 

34-1 

1904 

14.2 

36.9 

1890 

12.5 

37-1 

1905 

10.5 

23-4 

189I 

24.8 

37-2 

1906 

11.7 

24.0 

1892 

18.7 

37-6 

1907 

16.4 

512 

1893 

22.2 

67.7 

1908 

42.2 

48.8 

1894 

49-6 

54-6 

1909 

17.2 

30.1 

1895 

28.1 

43-2 

I9IO 

12.8 

30.2 

1896 

33-3 

55-9 

I9II 

26.3 

STATISTICS   OF   UNEMPLOYMENT  I9 

As  was  to  be  expected,  the  figures  show  great  differences 
in  unemployment  between  summer  and  winter.  Every  one 
realizes  that  there  is,  on  the  whole,  less  work  for  bricklay- 
ers in  December  than  in  June ;  but  few  realize  how  great 
the  difference  is.  December  31  and  June  30  may  be  taken 
as  dates  representative  of  the  poor  and  good  seasons  of 
employment  in  the  building  industry.  It  is  to  be  noted 
that,  without  exception,  in  the  period  1882-1911  unemploy- 
ment was  greater  in  December  than  in  June  of  any  one 
year.  The  mean  of  the  December  figures  is  37.47  per  cent, 
while  the  mean  of  the  June  figures  is  only  19.84  per  cent. 
By  taking  the  average  of  the  percentages  for  the  two  sea- 
sons over  a  period  of  thirty  years  the  effects  of  special  cir- 
cumstances, cyclical  fluctuations,  and  general  changes  of 
level  may  be  eliminated  or  made  inappreciable,  and  the  sea- 
sonal fluctuation  alone  is  seen.  The  table  also  discloses  a 
remarkable  series  of  waves  of  good  and  bad  employment. 
The  average  unemployment  for  the  four  minima,  1882, 
1883,  1901,  1905,  is  15.6  per  cent  or  one-third  of  the 
maximum.  It  would  be  interesting,  if  the  statistics  of  a 
sufficient  number  of  years  were  available,  to  compare  this 
range  with  the  fluctuations  in  other  trades.  Beveridge  has 
shown  that  in  England  those  trades  which  are  most  regu- 
larly affected  by  seasonal  movement  from  month  to  month 
are  those  least  affected  by  a  cyclical  fluctuation  from  year 
to  year.^^  From  an  examination  of  the  existing  statistics 
in  the  United  States  it  appears  that  this  does  not  hold  true 
in  this  country. 

The  Flint  Glass  Workers  have  collected  quarterly  statis- 
tics of  unemployment  since  1907,  but  the  data  are  frag- 
mentary from  1907  to  1912.  In  1913  the  union  also  in- 
cluded in  its  inquiry  questions  as  to  the  number  of  members 
who  were  unemployed  at  the  trade,  but  who  had  secured 
temporary  employment  in  other  lines  of  industry.  Accord- 
ingly, the  local  unions  were  requested  to  report  the  number 
of  members  employed  at  the  trade,  the  number  holding  bon- 
is W.  H.  Beveridge,  Unemployment :  A  Problem  of  Industry,  1909, 
p.  40. 


20         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN   TRADE    UNIONS 

orary  membership,  disabled,  and  working  outside  the  trade, 
and  the  number  of  those  who  were  wilHng  and  able  to  work 
but  had  not  found  employment  of  any  kind. 

The  following  table  shows  the  data  thus  collected : 


Unemployment  of  Members  of  the  Flint  Glass  Workers  Union 
(From  Quarterly  Reports  of  the  Secretary) 


Percentage  of  Members 

Employed 
at  Trade 

Employed 
Outside  Trade 

Unemployed 

IQ07  Aue.  "^i 

80 
82 
80 
87 
87 
84 
87 
85 
87 
87 
80 

QO 
91 
90 
86 
87 
87 
84 
74 
76 
76 
81 
80 
85 

6 

8 

7 
6 
8 
9 
13 
10 

7 
8 

9 

20 

Nov  30 

18 

1908  Feb.  28 

20 

1 909  Feb    28 

I"^ 

1910  Feb.  28 

13 

Mav  "^i 

16 

191 1  Feb.  28 

13 
15 
13 
13 
20 

Mhv  "^i 

1912  Feb.  28 

May  31 

Aue.  "^i 

Nov.  30 

ID 

1913  Feb.  28 

9 

4 
6 

Mav  "?! 

Aue.  "^i 

XT  ^   0* 

Nov.  30 

1914  Feb.  28 

6 

7 
8 

Mav  "^i 

Aug.  31 

Nov.  30 

17 
II 

1915  Feb.  28 

14 
12 

Mav  ^i 

Aue.  "^i 

12 

Nov.  30 

6 

The  percentage  of  the  members  employed  at  the  trade, 
it  will  be  noted,  varied  from  74  on  August  31,  1914,  to  91 
on  February  28,  1913.  The  means  for  the  four  quarters 
for  the  period  1912-1915  were  83,  84,  78  and  81  per  cent. 
It  appears  that  the  state  of  employment  is,  on  the  average, 
practically  the  same  in  all  four  quarters.  Since  1913  of 
those  not  employed  at  the  trade  on  the  average  8.2  per  cent 
were  employed  outside  the  trade,  while  9.1  per  cent  were 
returned  as  unemployed. 

The  fact  that  many  workmen  secure  subsidiary  employ- 


STATISTICS   OF   UNEMPLOYMENT  21 

ment  when  they  are  unable  to  secure  employment  at  their 
principal  occupations  is  a  factor  that  has  frequently  been 
overlooked  in  discussions  of  unemployment  statistics.  The 
fact  that  the  unions  in  a  particular  trade  report  that  30  per 
cent  of  their  members  were  unemployed  on  a  certain  day 
should  not  be  construed  to  indicate  that  30  per  cent  of  their 
members  were  not  working,  but  that  30  per  cent  were  not 
engaged  at  their  principal  occupation.  This  defect  in  trade 
union  statistics  of  unemployment  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
secretary  of  a  local  union  estimates  the  percentages  of  un- 
employment with  the  idea  that  the  information  which  is 
most  desirable  is  that  relating  to  the  number  of  members 
who  are  unable  to  secure  employment  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  union. 

Statistical  information  as  to  unemployment  among  the 
members  of  the  Pattern  Makers'  Union  is  available  for  each 
month  since  April,  1907.  These  data  have  been  secured 
from  the  reports  of  the  local  union  secretaries  to  the  na- 
tional president  who  compiles  the  statistics  for  private  use 
and  for  publication.^^  The  secretaries  are  instructed  to 
"give  the  exact  number  of  members  unemployed  at  the  end 
of  the  month  "-''  and  the  membership  of  the  local  unions. 
These  statistics  are,  of  course,  open  to  the  same  criticism 
as  those  of  the  New  York  Department  of  Labor  and  Massa- 
chusetts Bureau  of  Labor,  but  they  are  greatly  superior  to 
the  statistics  collected  by  trade  unions  that  have  heretofore 
been  considered.  In  January,  191 5,  forty  of  the  sixty-five 
local  unions  of  the  Pattern  Makers  had  less  than  fifty  mem- 
bers each.-^  As  was  stated  above,  the  secretaries  of  local 
unions  with  few  members  are  able  to  determine  the  number 
of  unemployed  from  personal  knowledge.  Moreover,  sev- 
eral of  the  larger  unions,  two  of  which  comprise  over  20 
per  cent  of  the  entire  membership,  pay  out-of-work  bene- 


1"  The  writer  wishes  to  express  his  appreciation  of  the  kindness 
of  President  Wilson  of  the  Pattern  Makers  in  placing  at  his  dis- 
posal the  reports  from  which  these  data  have  been  obtained. 

20  Monthly  Financial  Statement  and  Trade  and  Statistical  Report, 
December,  1914,  p.  2. 

21  Ibid.,  January,  1915,  pp.  6,  7. 


22  UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 


fits,"  and  all  of  the  local  unions  furnish  out-of-work  stamps 
free  to  the  unemployed,"  so  that  their  secretaries,  unlike 
those  of  most  unions,  have  the  opportunity  of  ascertaining 
the  exact  number  of  unemployed  members  with  but  little 
difficulty.  The  president  of  the  union,  too,  takes  great  in- 
terest in  the  returns  and  where  a  local  union  attempts  to 
conceal  a  good  condition  of  trade  by  the  return  of  an  exag- 
gerated number  of  unemployed,  does  not  hesitate  to  correct 
the  error.  However,  President  Wilson  states  that,  although 
the  greater  number  of  unions  make  fairly  accurate  returns, 
some  associations  overestimate  the  number  of  unemployed 
for  the  purpose  of  deterring  the  traveling  members  from 
transferring  to  them.  Thus,  in  January,  191 5,  he  pointed 
out  that  "one  association  this  month  reports  that  20  per 
cent  of  its  members  are  out  of  work  while  the  truth  is  that 
all  of  its  members  are  employed,  and  another  union  reports 
just  about  three  times  as  many  as  are  really  idle."^*  As 
with  the  other  data  as  to  unemployment  in  trade  unions, 
these  figures  include  those  unemployed  from  all  causes.^^ 

The  following  table  shows  the  percentages  of  unemploy- 
ment in  the  Pattern  Makers'  Union  for  the  last  working  day 
of  each  month  from  April,  1907,  to  December,  1916: 

Unemployment  of  Members  of  the  Pattern  Makers'  Union 
(From  Reports  at  the  Union  Headquarters) 


Percentage  of  Membership  Unemployed  on  Last  Working  Day 

Year 

,                . 

Jan. 

Feb.  Mar.   Apr. 

May  June 

July 

Aug. 

Sept. 

Oct. 

Nov.     Dec. 

Mean 

1907 

1 ' 3.8 

5-5'  4-9 

4-9 

6.8     9.8 

12.5 

20.6  29.3 

10.9 

1908 

28.6 

29.428.1  22.6 

27.1  26.4  25.6 

23-7  22.5 

21.7 

17.I    16.7 

24.1 

1909 

15-3 

I4.I  10.2  12. 1 

II. 8  10.6 

8.2 

7.3!    6.5 

6.0 

6.2      5.6 

9-5 

I9IO 

4.8 

3-9,  5-5:  4-3 

4-4    5.1 

5-5 

7.8     8.1 

II. ii  I0.6I  11.3 

6.8 

I9II 

10.5 

8.li  7.6\  7.6 

9-3    6.9 

7.2 

8.2I    8.i|  io.i|  lo.i     9.1 

8.6 

I912 

74 

6.31  6.51  5.2 

50    4-9 

4.6 

4-5'    4-3:    3-8i    3-8     4-8 

5-1 

I913 

4.6 

3-8|  3-9    4-2 

6.2    7.4 

9.3   11.4:  11.8   12.9;  15.1    16.6 

8.9 

I914 

14.0 

12.5111.911.311.613.1 

12.8!  15.6  20.3  23.8;  23.9   19.9 

159 

I915 

20.4 

16.5114.9  13.1  II. 8  10.9 

8.3;     7-8I    8.3     7.0!    5.7     5.7 

10.9 

1916 

5-« 

6.81  6.3I  6.6    6.5    5.6 

6.0I    6.6!    7.1     5.9,    4.7     3-9 

5-2 

22  See  p.  144. 

23  See  p.  145. 

2*  Monthly  Financial  Statement  and  Trade  and  Statistical  Report, 
January,  1915,  p.  2. 

25  In  1916  an  average  of  16.8  per  cent  of  the  members  reported  as 
unemployed  were  on  strike. 


STATISTICS    OF   UNEMPLOYMENT  23 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  percentages  are  considerably 
lower  than  those  of  the  other  unions  so  far  noted.  In 
normal  years  the  percentage  of  unemployment  is  between 
five  and  eight,  but  these  figures  are  doubled  in  periods  of 
industrial  depression.  The  striking  fact  about  the  data  of 
the  Pattern  Makers  is  the  relative  constancy  of  the  figures 
from  month  to  month;  that  is  to  say,  the  percentages  show 
no  sudden  fluctuations  from  one  month  to  the  next  as  the 
unemployment  statistics  of  a  single  trade  generally  do,  but 
either  rise  or  fall  gradually  during  the  periods  of  depression 
and  prosperity.  Thus,  in  191 5  the  percentage  was  20.4  in 
January  and  only  5.7  in  December,  but  the  percentages  for 
the  intervening  months  decreased  gradually.  The  same 
slow  movement  of  the  percentage  of  unemployment  oc- 
curred in  1907  when  there  was  a  gradual  increase  from  3.8 
in  April  to  29.3  in  December.  This  regularity  in  the  re- 
turns probably  indicates  that  the  secretaries  were  more  care- 
ful than  in  other  unions  to  note  slight  fluctuations. 

One  of  the  most  important  conclusions  to  be  drawn  from 
the  statistics  of  unemployment  relates  to  the  very  great 
differences  in  the  amount  of  unemployment  among  locali- 
ties. The  dominant  industries  of  any  two  States  are  rarely 
the  same,  or  even  if  the  same,  the  proportions  of  workmen 
employed  in  the  various  industries  are  generally  different. 
It  is  certainly  true,  for  example,  that  the  chief  occupations 
of  the  workmen  included  in  the  Massachusetts  returns  are 
not  identical  with  those  of  the  workmen  represented  in  the 
New  York  data.  Even  where  the  industries  are  the  same 
in  two  States  certain  local  peculiarities  may  affect  the  sea- 
sonal fluctuations  and  produce  more  unemployment  in  one 
state  than  in  another. 

The  differences  in  unemployment  among  various  States 
is  illustrated  by  a  comparison  of  the  monthly  fluctuations  in 
the  number  of  persons  employed  in  manufactures.  The 
census  of  manufacturers  of  1909  shows  that  in  ten  States  the 
minimum  number  of  wage  earners  reported  for  any  month 
in  the  year  represented  over  90  per  cent  of  the  maximum 


24 


UNEMPLOYMENT  AND   AMERICAN   TRADE   UNIONS 


number.  In  thirteen  States  the  proportion  was  less  than 
80.0  per  cent.  The  largest  difference  between  the  maxi- 
mum and  the  minimum  numbers  employed  is  shown  for 
Idaho,  where  the  percentage  was  63.3.  This  was  due  chiefly 
to  the  seasonal  variations  in  the  lumber  industry  which  gave 
employment  to  more  people  than  any  other  industry.  In 
New  Hampshire  and  Vermont,  on  the  other  hand,  where 
the  fluctuations  in  the  various  industries  largely  balance  one 
another,  the  minimum  numbers  of  wage  earners  reported 
were  94.3  and  93.3  per  cent  respectively,  of  the  maximum 
numbers.^" 

The  following  table  shows  the  relative  fluctuations  in  un- 
employment in  New  York  and  Massachusetts.  The  per- 
centage of  fluctuation  is  calculated  upon  the  base  of  the 
greatest  number  employed  in  any  one  month  of  the  year : 


Monthly   Fluctuations   of   Employment   in   the   Industries   of 
New  York  and  Massachusetts,  1909 

(From  the  Thirteenth  Census  of  the  United  States,  1910,  vol.  viii ; 
Manufactures,  p.  282) 


Jan. 


Feb. 


Mar. 


Apr.   May 


June  July 


Aug, 


Sept. 


Oct. 


Nov. 


Dec.  Mean 


New  York 
Mass 


lo.i 
7.6 


8.7 
6.6 


6.8 

5-4 


6.9 

5.8 


7-5 
5-9 


7.8 
6.0 


8.1 
6.5 


6.1 

5-2 


2.1 

2.9    1.8 


0.4 
1.4 


1-7 


6.02 


—  5.01 


The  table  shows  that  not  only  was  there  a  greater  fluctua- 
tion between  the  best  and  worst  months  of  employment  in 
New  York  than  in  Massachusetts,  but  that  in  New  York 
the  average  of  the  other  eleven  months  was  6.02  per  cent 
less  than  in  the  busiest  month,  October,  while  in  Massachu- 
setts the  average  was  only  5.01  per  cent  less  than  in  De- 
cember, the  busiest  month.  In  eight  of  the  eleven  months 
the  percentage  of  fluctuation  was  over  six  in  New  York, 
while  in  Massachusetts  the  percentage  was  six  or  over  in 
only  four  months. 

Not  only  are  the  fluctuations  in  employment  in  the  indus- 
tries of  two  States  taken  as  a  whole  often  quite  different, 

26  Thirteenth  Census,  1910,  vol.  viii,  p.  282. 


STATISTICS   OF   UNEMPLOYMENT  25 

but  it  frequently  happens  that  the  seasonal  fluctuations  in 
the  same  industry  are  different  in  two  States.  This  arises 
chiefly  out  of  climatic  conditions  although  various  local  pe- 
culiarities play  a  large  part.  Thus,  when  the  state  of  em- 
ployment in  the  building  trades  of  New  York  City  is  poor, 
Philadelphia  may  be  erecting  a  number  of  large  buildings 
and  may  need  additional  workmen.  Indeed  it  may  be  said 
that  the  state  of  employment  in  certain  trades  is  affected 
more  by  purely  local  variations  than  by  seasonal  and  cyclical 
fluctuations.  It  will  occasionally  happen  that  in  a  particu- 
lar city  more  building  will  be  done  during  the  winter  than 
was  done  in  the  preceding  summer.  Even  taking  the  labor 
market  as  a  whole,  the  state  of  employment  varies  as  much 
from  one  city  to  another  as  it  does  from  one  season  to  an- 
other. This  fact  is  shown  by  the  reports  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Bureau  of  Statistics  on  the  state  of  employment  in  the 
various  cities  of  the  State.  In  March,  191 5,  for  example, 
the  percentage  of  unemployment  for  the  entire  State  was 
16.6;  in  Boston,  it  was  13.9,  in  Brockton,  27.6,  in  Holyoke, 
25.2,  in  Lowell,  7.4,  while  in  Quincy  and  Taunton  it  was 
only  4.1  and  4.7,  respectively."  Thus,  there  was  a  total 
range  of  23.5  from  one  city  to  another  in  the  same  State. 
The  reports  of  the  New  York  Department  of  Labor  show 
that  the  state  of  employment  is  generally  far  worse  in  New 
York  City  than  in  other  parts  of  the  State. 

The  difference  in  the  amount  of  unemployment  among 
cities  is  illustrated  by  the  statistics  of  "traveling"  among 
trade  unionists.  Workmen  do  not  move  from  one  city  to 
another  because  the  general  state  of  employment  in  their 
trade  is  poor,  but  because  it  is  poor  in  the  particular  com- 
munity in  which  they  reside.  It  is  true  that  some  twenty 
years  ago  trade  unionists  traveled  needlessly  from  one  local 
union  to  another,  but  in  consequence  of  the  change  in  the 
attitude  of  the  unions,  the  members  are  notified  of  the  con- 
dition of  trade  in  contiguous  cities  before  they  move,  and 
if  it  appears  to  the  secretary  or  business  agent  that  the 

27  Twenty-ninth  Quarterly  Report  on  Unemployment  in  Massa- 
chusetts, March  31,  1915,  p.  4. 


26         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 
Unemployment  and  Traveling  in  the  Pattern  Makers'  Union 


Year 


Month 


Percentage 
Unemployed 


1909 


I9IO 


I9II 


I9I2 


1913 


January. . 
February . 
March .  .  . 
April .... 

May 

June 

July 

August .  .  . 
September 
October .  . 
November 
December , 
January . . 
February . 
March ... 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August .  .  . 
September 
October . .  . 
November 
December . 
January. . 
February . 
March  .  . .  . 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August.  .  . 
September 
October . . . 
November 
December . 
January. . 
February . 
March .  . . . 

Apiil 

May 

June 

July 

August .  .  . 
September 
October . . . 
November 
December . 
January. . 
February . 


15-3 

14. 1 

10.2 

12. 1 

11.8 

10.6 

8.2 

7-3 

6.5 

6.0 

6.2 

5-6 

4.8 

3-9 

5-5 

4-3 

44 

5-1 

5-5 

7.8 

8.1 

II. I 

10.6 

II-3 

10.5 

8.1 

7.6 

7.6 

9-3 

6.9 

7.2 

8.2 

8.1 

10. 1 

10. 1 

91 

7-4 

6.3 

6.5 

5-2 

5-0 

4-9 
4.6 

4-5 
4-3 
3-8 
3-8 
4.8 
46 
3-8 


STATISTICS   OF    UNEMPLOYMENT 


27 


Unemployment  and  Traveling  in  the  Pattern  Makers'  Union 
(Continued) 


Percentage 
Unemployed 


Number 
of  Members 

per  1,000 
Transferred 


I913 


I9I4 


1915 


March .  . . 
April .... 

May 

June 

July 

August .  .  . 
September 
October  . 
November 
December . 
January. . 
February . 
March ... 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August .  .  . 
September 
October. . . 
November 
December . 
January. . 
February. 
March .  .  . . 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August .  .  . 
September , 
October  .  . 
November . 
December . 


3-9 

18 

4.2 

23 

6.2 

25 

7-4 

21 

9-3 

23 

11.4 

18 

11.8 

19 

12.9 

14 

151 

13 

16.6 

12 

14.0 

II 

12.5 

10 

11.9 

17 

II-3 

13 

11.6 

10 

131 

16 

12.8 

12 

15-6 

13 

20.3 

10 

23.8 

7 

239 

8 

19.9 

9 

20.4 

8 

16.5 

10 

14.9 

10 

I3-I 

12 

11.8 

13 

10.9 

17 

8.3 

13 

7.8 

21 

8.3 

17 

7.0 

16 

5-7 

20 

5-7 

18 

member  would  not  be  bettering  his  chances  of  employment 
by  transferring  his  residence,  the  workman  is  informed  of 
the  fact.  The  trade  unionists,  as  will  be  shown  in  a  later 
chapter,  are  relying  more  and  more  upon  their  unions  to 
notify  them  of  employment  in  other  cities  and  consequently 
the  movement  that  occurs  at  the  present  time  is  largely  due 
to  differences  in  the  demand  for  labor  in  various  cities.  It 
has  frequently  been  asserted  in  periods  of  depression  that 


28  UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

the  poor  condition  of  trade  forced  many  workmen  to  move 
from  one  city  to  another,  but  the  contrary  is  true.  This  is 
clearly  brought  out  by  comparing  the  percentage  of  unem- 
ployment and  the  number  of  transfers  issued  per  one  thou- 
sand members  in  the  Pattern  Makers'  Union,  as  shown  in 
the  table  on  pages  26  and  2."]. 

The  coefficient  of  correlation  between  the  number  unem- 
ployed and  the  number  transferred  is  — .70.  In  other  words, 
the  percentage  of  unemployment  varies  inversely  with  the 
percentage  of  transfers  issued.  As  unemployment  in- 
creases, the  number  of  workmen  transferring  from  one  city 
to  another  decreases,  and  vice  versa.  The  percentage  of 
transfers  is  governed  by  the  fluctuations  of  employment  be- 
tween individual  labor  markets. 

From  the  statistics  of  unemployment  we  are  also  able  to 
make  certain  deductions  as  to  the  relative  volume  and  char- 
acter of  unemployment  in  some  of  the  principal  trades. 
Cyclical  fluctuations  occur  with  some  degree  of  regularity, 
the  movement  covering  a  period  of  four  or  five  years. 
Thus,  1896,  1900,  1904,  and  1908  were  years  in  which  the 
percentage  of  unemployment  reached  very  high  marks. 
These  cyclical  fluctuations  affect  all  trades  and  industries. 
It  appears  that  a  depression  generally  causes  an  increase  at 
the  high  point  of  50  per  cent  over  the  number  normally 
idle.  Thus,  in  IMassachusetts  it  appears  that  there  was,  on 
the  average,  61  per  cent  more  unemployment  in  1908  and 
1904  than  in  the  intervening  years  while  in  New  York 
there  was,  on  the  average,  50  per  cent  more  tmemployment 
in  1908  and  1914  than  the  average  of  the  intervening  years. 
The  number  unemployed  does  not  register  the  full  effect 
of  a  depression  since  short-time  is  more  common  in  such 
periods.  The  amount  of  the  weekly  pay-roll  would  be  a 
better  measure,  but  the  data  are  not  obtainable.  Industrial 
depressions  affect  the  various  trades  in  different  degree. 
For  instance,  a  period  of  depression  causes  an  increase  of 
100  per  cent  in  the  number  of  unemployed  in  the  building 
trades,  while  it  causes  increases  of  only  30  per  cent  in  the 


STATISTICS    OF    UNEMPLOYMENT  29 

garment  industry,  40  per  cent  in  food  and  liquors,  and  prac- 
tically none  in  some  other  trades  and  in  public  employment. 

There  are  two  methods  by  which  the  trade  unions  can 
alleviate  the  consequences  of  unemployment  due  to  cyclical 
fluctuations:  (i)  distribution  of  employment  and  (2)  un- 
employment insurance.  It  is  obvious  that  the  unions  can 
of  themselves  do  nothing  to  regularize  industry.  In  pe- 
riods of  depression,  their  employment  bureaus  cannot  have 
any  great  value,  nor  can  they  place  their  members  in  other 
occupations,  because  industries  are  generally  affected.  Equal 
distribution  of  employment  and  unemployment  insurance 
appear  to  be  the  only  means  of  meeting  cyclical  fluctuations. 
But,  as  will  be  pointed  out  in  a  later  chapter,  various  forces 
operate  against  the  establishment  of  the  system  of  equal 
distribution  of  employment.  Thus,  in  transportation  and 
printing  where  a  period  of  depression  throws  out  of  em- 
ployment only  about  four  per  cent  of  the  workmen,  this 
number  is  not  large  enough  to  cause  the  unions  to  ask  for 
an  equal  distribution  of  the  work.  The  system  is  most  used 
in  those  trades  where  the  cyclical  and  seasonal  fluctuations 
are  the  most  violent.  In  the  building  trades,  however, 
where  the  workmen  change  frequently  from  one  employer 
to  another,  this  method  can  be  utilized  only  with  great 
difficulty. 

The  most  noticeable  characteristic  of  the  statistics  is  the 
wide  fluctuation  in  the  percentages  of  unemployment  from 
month  to  month.  In  the  New  York  data,  which  constitutes 
the  only  statistical  information  as  to  unemployment  from 
month  to  month  in  all  trades,  the  percentages  for  all  trades 
taken  together  gradually  dropped  from  January,  the  dullest 
month  in  the  year,  to  September  and  October,  and  rose 
again  in  November  and  December.  The  good  and  bad  sea- 
sons vary  from  one  trade  to  another.  Thus,  the  winter 
months  furnish  less  employment  in  building  trades  and 
transportation,  but  more  employment  in  clothing,  textiles, 
boots  and  shoes,  theatres  and  music.  The  diflferences  among 
the  various  trades  of  the  same  industry  are  equally  as  im- 


30         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

portant.  For  instance,  in  the  garment  industry,  the  dull 
seasons  in  dresses  and  waists  coincide  with  the  periods  of 
fairly  intense  activity  in  the  manufacture  of  petticoats. 
While  the  seasons  of  activity  and  dullness  may  be  in  gen- 
eral the  same  in  some  of  the  various  industries,  the  duration 
and  the  intensity  of  the  unemployment  may  be  different.  In 
the  clothing  industry  the  seasonal  fluctuations  are  the  great- 
est, for  in  some  of  its  trades  there  is  an  almost  complete 
stagnation  in  the  dull  season.  On  the  average,  it  may  be 
said  that  the  dull  season  affects  80  per  cent  of  the  workmen 
in  the  clothing  industry.  In  the  building  trades  the  fluc- 
tuations due  to  weather  conditions  mean  the  idleness  of  20 
per  cent  of  the  workmen  in  addition  to  the  number  normally 
idle.  In  metals  and  machinery  and  printing,  the  seasonal 
fluctuations  are  less,  amounting  to  but  three  or  four  per 
cent  of  the  workmen.  In  the  brewing  industry  the  seasonal 
fluctuations  mean  the  employment  of  all  workers  on  half 
time,  while  in  theatres  about  75  per  cent  of  the  workmen 
are  unemployed  during  the  summer  months. 

There  are  two  chief  remedies  recommended  for  seasonal 
fluctuations:  (i)  the  regularization  of  industry  and  (2)  the 
dovetailing  of  occupations.  While  it  is  true  that  the  trade 
unions  could  facilitate  the  regularization  of  industry  by 
lowering  their  minimum  rates  in  the  dull  seasons,  there  are 
certain  considerations  which  make  this  solution  undesirable 
to  them.  Moreover,  this  solution  can  only  be  achieved  by 
cooperation  with  the  employers. 

The  second  remedy,  the  dovetaihng  of  trades,  has  greater 
possibilities,  although  the  trade  unions  have  given  it  little 
attention.  In  a  later  chapter,  it  will  be  pointed  out  that 
only  a  few  of  the  unions  have  provided  for  a  free  inter- 
change of  union  cards.  It  was  noted,  however,  in  our  ex- 
amination of  the  statistics  of  the  Flint  Glass  Workers  union, 
that  nearly  one-half  of  those  not  engaged  at  their  principal 
occupations  were  employed  at  other  work.  In  this  prob- 
lem, as  in  others,  the  volume  and  character  of  the  unem- 
ployment determine  to  a  great  extent  the  appropriate  rem- 


STATISTICS   OF    UNEMPLOYMENT  3I 

edy.  It  is  obvious  that  the  amount  of  dovetailing  will  be 
greatest  in  those  trades  where  the  slack  seasons  are  most 
pronounced.  The  flint  glass  workers,  the  theatrical  stage 
employees,  and  the  glass  bottle  blowers,  who  realize  that 
they  will  be  unable  to  secure  any  employment  at  their  main 
occupation  during  the  dull  seasons,  look  to  other  industries 
for  employment  to  tide  them  over  the  slack  period.  On 
the  other  hand,  where  the  fluctuations  are  less  pronounced, 
and  there  is  a  greater  chance  for  continued  employment  in 
the  trade  through  the  slack  season,  the  workmen  are  reluc- 
tant to  enter  other  industries  and  perform  work  which  is 
more  irksome  for  lower  wages.  This  explains  in  great 
part  why  the  longshoremen  rarely  enter  other  fields  of  em- 
ployment even  for  short  periods ;  there  is  always  the  chance 
that  they  can  secure  some  work  along  the  wharves. 

In  another  group  of  trades,  workmen  are  unable  to  dove- 
tail occupations  because  there  are  no  opportunities.  The 
coal  miners  have  no  means  of  supplementing  their  earnings 
in  dull  seasons,  and  charity  workers  will  testify  to  the  fact 
that  clothing  workers  are  usually  unable  to  secure  work  at 
other  than  the  needle  trades.  Skilled  workmen  are  re- 
luctant to  do  unskilled  work  for  fear  that  they  will  in  some 
way  destroy  the  knack  of  doing  skilled  work ;  it  is  only  in 
a  small  number  of  cases  that  building  trades  workers  secure 
employment  in  other  occupations  with  somewhat  lower 
wages.  Thus,  the  extent  to  which  resort  is  had  to  sub- 
sidiary occupations  varies  from  trade  to  trade.  In  trades 
where  the  seasonal  fluctuations  are  more  pronounced,  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  number  not  employed  at  the  trade  are 
employed  in  some  other  occupation.  In  the  highly  skilled 
trades  and  in  trades  where  the  fluctuations  are  not  very 
acute,  the  number  is  very  much  less. 

The  consequence  of  seasonal  unemployment  to  the  indi- 
vidual workmen  may  be  alleviated  by  unemployment  insur- 
ance, by  relatively  higher  wages  during  employment,  and  by 
distribution  of  employment. 

It  has  been  noted  that  the  periods  of  seasonal  fluctuations 


32  UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE    UNIONS 

in  many  trades  are  well  defined,  and  the  workmen  expect  to 
be  unemployed  for  a  certain  length  of  time  each  season. 
Unemployment  insurance,  in  such  cases,  is  not  necessary 
unless  the  workmen  have  not  the  will  to  provide  for  these 
periods  of  idleness.  It  will  be  noted  later  that  the  Cigar 
Makers  do  not  provide  for  the  payment  of  out-of-work 
benefits  during  the  seasonal  periods  of  slackness. 

It  is  a  well  recognized  fact  that  wages  are  higher  in 
trades  which  are  affected  by  pronounced  seasonal  fluctua- 
tions than  in  trades  embracing  the  same  class  of  workmen 
but  with  greater  regularity  of  employment.  Thus,  the 
hourly  wages  of  bricklayers  are  considerably  higher  than  the 
wages  of  carpenters ;  but  the  statistics  of  the  New  York 
Department  of  Labor  show  that  the  average  yearly  earnings 
in  the  two  trades  are  about  the  same.  Cabinet  makers  re- 
ceive lower  wages  than  carpenters  partly,  if  not  entirely, 
because  they  have  more  regular  employment.  The  rela- 
tively high  daily  wages  of  members  of  building-trades 
unions  are  frequently  used  to  indicate  high  yearly  earnings, 
yet  it  is  found  that  the  latter  are  but  little  more  than  those 
in  metals  and  machinery  and  slightly  lower  than  in  printing, 
where  regular  employment  produces  high  yearly  earnings 
although  the  daily  wage  is  relatively  low. 

In  a  later  chapter  it  will  be  shown  that  the  unions  depend 
chiefly  upon  the  distribution  of  employment  in  meeting 
seasonal  fluctuations,  and  that  the  volume  and  character  of 
the  unemployment  play  a  considerable  part  in  determining 
whether  or  not  this  method  is  available. 

Apart  from  seasonal  and  cyclical  unemployment  there  is 
a  considerable  amount  of  unemployment  in  certain  trades 
which  is  due  to  the  maladjustment  of  the  labor  supply 
among  different  localities.  Against  this  form  of  unemploy- 
ment, the  unions  have  provided  by  the  transfer  of  their 
members  from  one  city  to  another.  These  methods  are 
generally  better  established  in  trades  where  the  local  fluctua- 
tions are  the  greatest. 

Finally,   there   is   the    form  of   unemployment  which   is 


STATISTICS   OF   UNEMPLOYMENT  33 

present  at  all  times,  caused  either  by  a  chronic  oversupply  of 
workmen  in  the  trade  or  by  the  fact  that  workmen  are 
sometimes  forced  to  change  their  employers.  The  former 
cause  is  of  importance  only  in  those  trades  where  the  work 
is  extremely  casual  as  in  the  case  of  longshoremen.  In  this 
connection  the  unions  have  done  little;  indeed  Barnes-* 
points  out  that  the  unions  of  longshoremen  in  New  York 
City  have  repeatedly  refused  the  offers  of  the  employers 
to  place  a  certain  number  of  the  men  on  weekly  wages. 

The  second  form  of  unemployment,  that  due  to  the  chang- 
ing of  employers,  is  of  great  importance  in  some  trades, 
while  in  others  it  is  not  a  serious  problem.  More  time  is 
lost  in  this  manner  in  the  building  trades  than  in  any  other 
industry.  The  average  building-trades  worker  secures  em- 
ployment on  several  jobs  and  under  several  employers  dur- 
ing a  season.  Inasmuch  as  the  periods  of  unemployment 
in  such  cases  are  generally  short,  unemployment  insurance 
is  of  little  value.  The  most  important  need  is  for  employ- 
ment bureaus.  In  a  later  chapter  it  will  be  noted  that  the 
unions  have  developed  these  agencies  in  proportion  to  the 
relative  volume  of  such  unemployment  in  their  trades. 
Thus,  in  the  building  trades  where  the  problem  is  the 
greatest,  the  office  of  business  agent  has  been  established. 
In  other  trades,  as,  for  instance,  the  glass  industry,  where 
the  problem  is  far  less  acute,  the  unions  have  done  very 
little. 

28  Charles  B.  Barnes,  The  Longshoremen,  pp.  74,  79,  102. 


CHAPTER   II 
The  Til\de  Union  Theory  of  Unemployment 

The  American  unions  have  adopted  certain  policies  which 
have  as  their  object  a  solution  of  the  problem  of  unem- 
ployment. Some  of  these  policies  are  based  on  fallacious 
reasoning,  while  others  would  produce  a  partial  solution  if 
the  unions  were  able  to  exercise  jurisdiction  over  a  greater 
proportion  of  the  working  population  than  they  now  control. 
No  one  realizes  the  inadequacy  of  present  policies  better 
than  the  trade  unionists,  and  they  also  realize  that  without 
the  aid  of  the  government,  of  the  employers,  and  of  the 
general  public,  they  cannot  deal  successfully  with  the  prob- 
lem. As  one  trade-union  official  has  said:  "Of  all  the 
problems  facing  trade-union  officials  that  of  unemployment 
is  the  most  difficult  to  handle."^ 

There  are  numerous  union  rules,  regulations,  customs,  and 
policies  which  bear  some  relation  to  unemployment,  but  only 
those  which  show  the  union  theory  of  unemployment  will  be 
considered  here.  Inasmuch  as  this  theory  has  been  de- 
veloped from  two  main  ideas,  the  regulation  of  the  number 
of  workmen  among  whom  the  employment  is  to  be  divided, 
and  the  increasing  of  the  total  amount  of  employment,  the 
policies  which  have  been  chosen  for  discussion  may  be  con- 
veniently classified  under  these  two  heads. 

Unions  generally  regard  the  amount  of  work  which  is  to 
be  done  as  a  fixed  quantity.  Their  chief  concern,  there- 
fore, is  the  number  of  workmen  among  whom  the  employ- 
ment is  to  be  divided.  The  problem  of  unemployment 
would  be,  in  great  measure,  solved,  in  their  opinion,  could 
they  but  regulate  the  number  of  workmen  in  the  country 
and  in  each  trade.     Thus,  the  unions  have  been  the  strongest 

1  Typographical  Journal,  January,  1915,  p.  42. 

34 


TRADE    UNION    THEORY   OF   UNEMPLOYMENT  35 

agitators  for  a  restriction  of  immigration.  They  maintain 
that  as  the  population  of  the  country  increases  the  chances 
for  employment  lessen  and  there  is  less  amount  of  employ- 
ment per  capita.  In  the  same  manner  they  appear  to  think 
that  by  the  aboHtion  of  the  manufacture  of  goods  by  con- 
vict and  child  labor  the  per  capita  amount  of  work  will  be 
increased.  In  short,  the  union  theory  of  unemployment  is 
built  upon  the  doctrine  which  economists  have  termed  the 
"  work   fund  "  theory. 

In  view  of  the  existence  of  such  union  theories,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  a  great  number  of  unions  have  placed  re- 
strictions upon  the  admission  of  workmen  to  their  organiza- 
tions. The  editor  of  the  Bridge  and  Structural  Iron  Work- 
ers Journal  has  stated  the  common  union  view  as  follows : 
"  As  a  general  proposition  with  us  we  appear  to  think  that  a 
new  applicant  means  another  person  to  apply  for  the  various 
jobs."2 

Not  all  of  the  unions  have  adopted  the  policy  of  limiting 
their  membership;  many  are  willing  to  receive  as  members 
practically  all  who  are  employed  at  the  trade.  But,  where 
a  local  union  has  the  field  sufficiently  organized  to  success- 
fully deal  with  the  employers,  very  little  effort  is  made  to 
secure  additional  members.  In  some  of  the  large  cities 
it  is  very  difficult  to  obtain  admission  to  a  building-trades 
union.  In  such  cases  it  is  felt  that  workmen  have  the  local 
situation  so  well  in  hand  that  the  presence  of  even  a  con- 
siderable number  of  unorganized  workmen  can  have  little 
influence  in  their  dealings  with  the  employers. 

A  few  local  unions  in  various  trades  make  their  admission 
fees  high  as  a  barrier  to  deter  the  unorganized  from  joining. 
Initiation  fees  of  $50.00,  $75.00  and  even  $100.00  are  found 
in  a  few  highly  organized  unions,  and  this  amount  must  be 
paid  before  the  workmen  are  given  their  working  cards. 
Another  method  of  keeping  the  unorganized  out  of  the 
union  is  to  make  the  conditions  of  the  examination  such 
that  it  is  very  difficult  for  ordinary  workmen  to  pass  it. 

2  Bridgemen's  Magazine,  1908,  p.  848. 


36         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN   TRADE   UNIONS 

The  New  York  local  union  of  Steam  Fitters  limits  its  mem- 
bership by  this  method.  The  requirements  of  the  examina- 
tion are  said  to  be  of  such  a  nature  that  a  majority  of  the 
members  of  the  union  could  not  pass  it.  Other  unions  have 
gone  further  and  have  absolutely  refused  to  consider  ap- 
plications. While  this  is  a  policy  of  only  two  or  three 
national  unions,  it  is  practised  in  a  great  number  of  local 
unions  of  various  trades.  These  local  unions  have  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  members  to  maintain  relations  with  the  em- 
ployers and  are  extremely  reluctant  to  receive  any  new  mem- 
bers, even  upon  application.  A  still  greater  number  of 
local  unions  do  not  make  any  serious  efforts  to  organize  their 
trade.  Thus,  a  business  agent  informed  the  writer  that 
he  made  no  effort  to  secure  new  members  and,  further,  that 
he  attempted  to  persuade  applicants  not  to  join  the  union 
unless  work  was  very  plentiful.^ 

The  union  apprenticeship  policies  are  dominated  by  the 
same  ideas.  The  unions  seek  to  perpetuate  the  custom  of 
apprenticeship  with  its  accompanying  rules,  primarily,  in 
order  that  the  supply  of  labor  may  be  regulated  and,  sec- 
ondarily, that  capable  workmen  may  be  produced.  Although 
there  is  no  desire  to  minimize  the  purpose  of  the  unions  to 
produce  efficient  workmen  by  the  system  of  apprenticeship, 
it  is  obvious  that  this  is  subordinate  to  the  desire  to  restrict 
the  number  working  at  the  trade.  In  those  trades  in  which 
the  system  of  apprenticeship  exists,  a  considerable  amount 
of  unemployment  is  frequently  traced  by  the  unions  to  the 
admission  of  too  many  apprentices.  Thus,  an  official  of  the 
Photo-Engravers  reported  in  191 5:  "We  fully  agree  that 
one  of  the  chief  contributing  factors  that  have  been  the 
cause  of  so  much  unemployment  in  our  trade  has  been  a  too 
liberal  apprentice  ratio  which  is  turning  out  more  journey- 
men than  the  trade  can  absorb.  The  industry  is  not  growing 
as  rapidly  as  it  has  in  the  past  and  the  new  time  and  labor 
saving  methods  and  processes  are  aggravating  this  situation. 
.  .  .  We  therefore  .  .  ,  urge  this  convention  to  alter  our 

2  Interview,  February,  1913. 


TRADE    UNION   THEORY   OF   UNEMPLOYMENT  37 

existing  ratio  of  apprentices  so  as  to  be  more  restrictive."* 
Trade  unionists  generally  believe  that  if  the  unions  were 
allowed  to  fix  the  ratio  of  apprentices  to  journeymen,  the 
problem  of  unemployment  would  be  greatly  lessened.  Thus, 
the  president  of  the  Plumbers  said  in  1900:  "I  believe  that 
the  future  prosperity  of  our  trade  lies  in  restricting  the  vast 
number  of  apprentices  that  are  at  present  employed.  The 
supply  is  greater  than  the  demand  and  therefore  in  accord- 
ance with  the  other  lines  of  trade  we  should  endeavor  to 
restrict  the  number  of  apprentices  until  such  time  as  our 
older  members  have  an  opportunity  to  earn  a  livelihood."^ 
In  the  majority  of  trade  conferences,  such  as  those  in  the 
glass  industry,  the  subject  of  apprenticeship  is  one  of  the 
most  important  topics  of  discussion.  The  unions  demand 
that  the  ratio  be  reduced  while  the  employers  desire  an  in- 
crease. Frequently  the  unions  have  laid  as  much  stress 
upon  this  point  as  upon  wages  and  other  working  conditions. 
The  relation  between  restriction  of  numbers  and  the 
avoidance  of  unemployment  is  illustrated  by  the  policies  of 
certain  unions  when  trade  is  very  active.  In  such  cases  the 
unions  occasionally  remove  the  barriers  to  membership  in 
order  to  furnish  employers  with  the  desired  number  of 
workmen.  They  receive  these  men  into  the  union  upon  the 
payment  of  the  customary  initiation  fee,  but  are  careful  to 
accept  as  members  only  enough  to  meet  the  demands  of 
the  employers.  In  other  cases  the  unions  do  not  accept  as 
regular  members  those  workmen  who  are  needed  by  reason 
of  an  increased  demand.  For  instance,  the  Elevator  Con- 
structors, which  has  limited  its  membership  more  success- 
fully than  any  other  American  union,  utilizes  the  so-called 
"  permit "  system.  A  Chicago  contractor  stated  in  1904  that 
"in  busy  times  the  Union  (Elevator  Constructors)  will  not 
admit  new  members  so  that  all  of  its  members,  even  the 
poorest,  may  be  able  to  obtain  employment,"  and  that  this 
resulted  in  a  shortage  of  efficient  men." 

*  American  Photo-Engraver,  October,  1915,  pp.  467-468. 

5  Proceedings,  1900,  p.  15. 

8  Eleventh  Special  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor,   1904, 

P-  333. 


38  UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

When  a  local  union  of  the  Elevator  Constructors  is  forced 
by  the  employers  to  find  additional  workmen,  it  secures  men 
who  have  had  experience  in  elevator  construction,  or  struc- 
tural and  ornamental  iron  workers,  machinists,  carpenters, 
and  electricians.  The  work  is  of  such  a  character  that 
under  the  guidance  of  experienced  elevator  constructors 
these  workmen  of  closely  allied  trades  can  be  utilized  very 
satisfactorily.  But  these  men  are  not  required  to  join  the 
union.  Indeed,  in  the  greater  number  of  cases  they  are  not 
admitted.  They  are  given  "permits"  which  are  valid  for 
one  or  two  weeks.  If  their  services  are  needed  after  this 
time  the  permits  are  renewed,  but  if  employment  is  not  plenti- 
ful the  men  are  released.  For  these  permits  the  union 
charges  the  sum  of  25  or  50  cents  per  day.  The  rules 
of  the  Chicago  local  union  provide  that  "  when  the  condition 
of  trade  makes  it  impossible  to  furnish  employers  with  the 
necessary  help  from  among  the  regular  members,  the  busi- 
ness agent  shall  have  power  to  issue  permits  to  the  members 
of  other  trades  who  may  be  competent  to  do  the  work. 
These  permits  may  be  withdrawn  at  any  time  by  the  busi- 
ness agent."^ 

President  Murphy  of  the  Elevator  Constructors  says  that 
in  1912  the  New  York  local  union  was  working  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  permit  men  at  one  time.^  Nor  are  the  fluctua- 
tions which  require  additional  men  of  short  duration.  The 
secretary  reported  in  1908  that  the  Philadelphia  local  union 
had  had  an  average  of  twenty-five  permit  men  for  two 
months,  and  added :  "  now  that  trade  is  dull,  the  permit  men 
are  being  dispensed  with  to  make  room  for  the  regular  mem- 
bers who  are  out  of  work."^  When  asked  as  to  the  union's 
motive  in  using  the  permit  system  to  such  an  extent,  Presi- 
dent Murphy  stated  that  the  main  reason  was  the  desire  to 
maintain  the  number  of  members  at  such  a  point  that  all 
would  be  steadily  employed  throughout  the  year.^" 

^  Constitution,  1914,  art.  8,  sec.  16. 
8  Interview.  August.  1915. 
^  Elevator  Constructor,  1908,  p.  23. 
i**  Interview,  August,  1915.  , 


TRADE   UNION    THEORY   OF   UNEMPLOYMENT  39 

Partly  on  account  of  the  great  seasonal  fluctuations,  partly 
as  a  result  of  the  policy  of  equal  distribution  of  employment 
during  the  dull  seasons,  and  partly  on  account  of  the  fear 
of  prohibition  and  local  option  laws,  the  Brewery  Workers 
also  use  the  permit  system.^^  During  the  summer  a  large 
force  of  extra  workmen  is  needed  in  all  breweries.  By 
reason  of  the  policy  of  the  union  respecting  the  restriction 
of  membership,  the  supply  of  workmen  is  not  sufficient  to 
cope  with  this  extra  work.  The  union,  which  has  practically 
complete  control  of  the  trade,  has  been  given  the  power  to 
designate  the  workmen  to  fill  all  vacancies.  Accordingly, 
the  union  secures  unemployed  members  of  other  unions,  gen- 
erally from  those  trades  which  experience  seasonal  unem- 
ployment during  the  summer  months.  The  character  of  the 
work  is  such  that  no  previous  experience  is  required. 
These  additional  workmen  are  given  permits  which  are  re- 
vocable at  any  time  on  demand  of  the  business  agent.  The 
fees  charged  the  permit  men  are  the  same  as  the  dues  paid 
by  the  regular  members. 

In  the  Flint  Glass  Workers  there  has  been  a  shortage 
of  mould  makers  on  frequent  occasions  since  1901.  Inas- 
much as  the  periods  during  which  a  scarcity  of  men  has 
existed  have  been  of  short  duration,  the  union  has  refused 
to  allow  the  employers  to  increase  the  ratio  of  apprentices 
to  journeymen.  As  a  substitute,  President  Voitle  of  the 
Flint  Glass  Workers  in  1902  advised  that  the  manufacturers 
be  permitted  to  employ  members  of  the  Machinists'  union  to 
do  patching.  Such  workmen,  however,  were  not  to  become 
members  of  the  union,  but  to  pay  the  regular  assessments  on 
their  earnings.  Furthermore,  the  permits  of  the  machinists 
were  to  be  revoked  not  later  than  June  30,  1902."  It  ap- 
pears that  this  proposal  was  not  adopted  as  a  general  rule, 
although  it  was  put  into  practice  in  several  shops. 

In  1904  the  manufacturers  again  complained  of  a  scarcity 
of  mould  makers  and  it  was  proposed  that  members  of  the 
Machinists'  Union   be  given  permits   to  do   this   class  of 

11  Interview  with  Secretary  Proebstle,  August,  1915. 
1*  Proceedings,  1902,  pp.  60-61. 


40 


UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 


work.      President    Rowe    in    speaking    of    the   proposition 
said: 

"  I  believe  that  if  we  extend  relief  to  the  bottle-mould  shops  where 
it  is  badly  needed  at  the  present  time,  we  should  carefully  measure 
the  number  required  to  furnish  the  relief  necessary,  and  we  should 
confine  that  relief  for  one  or  two  years  to  the  common  grade  of 
work.  If  at  the  expiration  of  the  period  of  one  or  two  years,  we 
are  unable  to  fill  the  places  with  mould  makers  competent  to  do  the 
work,  we  should  then  teach  the  trade  to  the  machinists  with  permits, 
and  when  they  become  competent  workmen  we  should  admit  them 
to  membership.  I  favor  this  plan  in  preference  to  admitting  more 
apprentices.  If  we  admit  more  apprentices  we  will  have  them  on 
our  trade  at  all  times,  owing  to  the  fact  that  they  have  learned  no 
other  trade.  We  should  arrange  specifications  whereby  the  machin- 
ists could  be  put  off  in  case  of  slackness  in  trade  and  they  would 
have  another  trade  to  go  to  in  case  it  was  best  for  the  interests  of 
the  workers  to  have  them  put  off."^^ 

The  permit  system  was  put  into  operation  by  the  FHnt 
Glass  Workers  in  many  factories,  but  it  was  not  until  191 4 
that  a  general  rule  was  adopted.  The  convention  of  that 
year  made  the  following  provision :  "  In  the  case  of  a  short- 
age of  mould  makers  and  the  American  Flint  Glass  Work- 
ers' Union  is  unable  to  supply  the  men  within  a  reasonable 
period  of  time  .  .  .  the  shop  committee  shall  have  the  privi- 
lege of  drawing  labor  from  the  International  Association  of 
Machinists,  and  all  those  engaged  under  such  circumstances 
shall  pay  assessments  into  our  Union  and  comply  with  our 
rules,  with  the  distinct  understanding  that  labor  drawn  in 
this  manner,  if  working  at  a  time  when  work  becomes  slack, 
shall  be  the  first  to  be  laid  off  before  there  is  a  division  of 
time."^* 

In  the  building  trades  the  permit  system  is  in  operation  in 
a  great  many  local  unions.  The  Bridge  and  Structural 
Iron  Workers  issue  permits  to  sheet  metal  workers,  metal 
lathers,  and  boiler  makers  when  there  is  a  scarcity  of  union 
iron  workers.  The  Carpenters  frequently  allow  so-called 
"  hatchet-and-saw "  men  to  work  on  permits  during  the 
busy  season  and  the  Plasterers  obtain  "  handy-men  "  to  aid 
them  in  their  work.     The  local  unions  of  Chicago  and  New 


13  Proceedings,  1904,  pp.  133-134. 
1*  Proceedings,  1914,  p.  193. 


TRADE   UNION   THEORY   OF   UNEMPLOYMENT  4 1 

York  have  been  the  chief  centers  of  the  permit  system.  It 
is  common  knowledge  among  unionists  that  at  one  time  it 
was  extremely  difficult  to  obtain  membership  in  any  of  the 
building-trades  unions  of  Chicago  and  New  York. 

The  Steam  and  Hot  Water  Fitters  have  utilized  the  per- 
mit system  in  various  forms.  President  Short  of  the  Build- 
ing Trades  Department  said  in  191 1  that  "the  conditions  in 
Chicago  at  the  first  of  the  year  were  such  that  it  was 
deemed  advisable  for  the  United  Association  of  Plumbers 
to  organize  a  local  union  of  steam  fitters,  as  theretofore  it 
was  impossible  for  a  journeyman  steam  fitter  to  obtain 
admission  into  the  organization  to  which  he  should  belong. 
Instead  of  being  given  membership  in  the  Steam  Fitters' 
Union  he  was  compelled  to  work  under  a  so-called  permit 
system.  His  permit  would  be  renewed  from  week  to  week 
and  a  certain  fee  was  charged  for  it."^^  While  the  present 
steam  fitters'  local  unions  of  the  United  Association  of 
Plumbers  do  not  arbitrarily  refuse  to  admit  efficient  jour- 
neymen into  the  union,  they  do  use  the  permit  system  for 
helpers,  and  to  a  certain  extent,  for  journeymen.  When 
there  is  a  scarcity  of  journeymen  steam  fitters,  the  union 
issues  journeyman  permits  to  its  most  efficient  helpers,  and 
in  turn  issues  permits  to  handy  men  to  take  the  places  of 
the  helpers  who  have  been  temporarily  promoted.  Such 
permits  are  revocable  at  the  desire  of  the  business  agent. 
When  work  becomes  dull,  the  permit  journeymen  are  re- 
duced in  rank  to  helpers  and  the  permit  helpers  are  given 
their  release.  The  fees  charged  the  helpers  on  permit  vary 
from  25  to  50  cents  per  day,  while  the  regular  helper  pays 
only  $1.30  per  month.  A  business  agent  of  the  Steam  Fit- 
ters said  he  attempted  to  secure  each  season  as  helpers  on 
permit  men  who  had  worked  in  this  capacity  before,  and 
generally  the  men  who  have  worked  on  permits  return  the 
next  season  for  the  same  privilege.^^ 

A  great  part  of  the  jurisdictional  disputes  among  the 

^5  Proceedings,    Building    Trades    Department    of    the    American 
Federation  of  Labor,  191 1,  p.  ZT- 
^''Interview,  December,  1915. 


42  UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

unions  is  directly  attributable  to  the  "  work  fund  "  theory. 
Each  union  strives  zealously  to  increase  its  jurisdiction, 
since  the  members  expect  thereby  to  increase  their  field  of 
employment  and  thereby  to  increase  the  per  capita  amount 
of  work  for  the  members.  But  the  unions  carry  this  idea 
further.  It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  a  great  number  of 
workmen  are  capable  of  working  at  more  than  one  trade. 
Such  men  would  be  able  to  greatly  decrease  their  periods 
of  unemployment  by  transferring  from  the  trade  in  which 
they  have  been  thrown  out  of  work  to  a  trade  in  which  they 
could  secure  work.  When,  however,  a  member  of  a  union 
attempts  to  transfer  either  for  a  short  period  or  perma- 
nently to  another  union,  he  is  compelled,  with  few  excep- 
tions, to  pay  the  same  initiation  fee  as  an  unorganized  work- 
man.^^  Very  few  unions  allow  the  interchange  of  cards. 
The  only  exceptions  appear  to  be  the  reciprocity  agreements 
between  the  Bricklayers,  Masons  and  Plasterers  and  the 
Operative  Plasterers,  the  Western  Federation  of  Miners 
and  the  United  Mine  Workers,  the  Maintenance  of  Way 
Employees  and  Carpenters,  the  Carmen  and  the  Painters, 
the  Glass  Bottle  Blowers  and  the  Flint  Glass  Workers,  and 
to  a  limited  extent,  the  Ladies'  Garment  Workers  and  the 
United  Garment  Workers.  A  member  of  the  Commercial 
Telegraphers,  for  example,  is  not  recognized  by  the  Rail- 
road Telegraphers  although  the  work  performed  by  the 
members  of  both  organizations  is  practically  the  same,  and 
there  is  much  transferring  between  the  tv/o  industries.^® 

Those  unions  which  are  organized  on  the  basis  of  indus- 
try, instead  of  trade,  furnish  the  most  flagrant  examples  of 
this  situation.  The  work  of  the  members  of  the  Stationary 
Firemen  and  Steam  Engineers  is  the  same  as  that  per- 
formed by  some  members  of  the  Brewery  Workers,  the 
Western  Federation  of  Miners,  and  the  United  Mine  Work- 
ers. But,  there  is  no  permanent  interchange  of  cards  be- 
tween these  organizations.  A  member  of  the  Teamsters 
cannot  secure  employment  at  his  trade  in  the  brewing  or 

"  The  Bridgemen's  Magazine,  December,  1903,  p.  5. 
^3  Interview,  August,  1915. 


TRADE    UNION    THEORY   OF   UNEMPLOYMENT  43 

mining  industries  until  he  withdraws  from  the  Teamsters' 
Union  and  joins  the  Brewery  Workers  or  Miners.  When 
one  considers  the  number  of  industries  in  which  the  average 
mechanic  works  during  a  year  it  is  obvious  that  the  indus- 
trial union  form  of  organization,  unless  some  change  were 
made  in  present  rules,  would  be  less  adapted  to  combat  the 
problem  of  unemployment  than  the  trade  union.  Under  a 
system  of  organization  by  trade,  a  member  of  a  union  is 
free  to  work  in  any  industry  provided  that  he  is  employed 
at  his  customary  trade,  but  the  field  of  employment  of  a 
member  of  an  industrial  union  is  limited  to  one  particular 
industry. 

From  time  to  time  in  various  unions,  some  of  whose  mem- 
bers have  been  capable  of  working  at  more  than  one  trade, 
or  in  more  than  one  industry,  there  have  been  campaigns 
for  reciprocal  recognition  of  the  cards  of  certain  unions. 
During  the  past  few  years  a  number  of  such  agreements 
have  been  made.  Some  unionists  have  gone  further  and 
advocated  a  Universal  Card  System,  under  which  a  union 
card  would  be  accepted  by  a  local  union  in  any  trade,  pro- 
vided that  the  initiation  fees  of  both  local  unions  are  the 
same.  The  chief  argument  advanced  by  the  promoters  of 
the  reciprocal  agreements  between  particular  unions  and  of 
the  Universal  Card  System  has  been  that  when  a  workman 
is  compelled  to  change  his  occupation  he  is  generally  in  need 
of  funds,  and  this  is  a  most  inopportune  time  for  him  to 
pay  an  initiation  fee.  Certainly  the  fact  that  he  is  com- 
pelled to  pay  a  new  initiation  fee  has  forced  many  a  work- 
man to  relinquish  the  hope  of  securing  employment  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  another  union. 

In  some  unions  there  exists  the  practice  of  granting  se- 
niority rights  and  privileges  to  certain  members.  Under 
this  system  when  employment  slackens,  those  members  who 
have  been  longest  employed  are  given  preference  by  being 
employed  at  full  time  while  other  members  arc  laid  oflF. 
The  system  of  seniority  rights  exists,  to  a  certain  extent,  in 
many  unions,  but  only  in  the  Railroad  Brotherhoods  and 
in  the  Printers  is  it  in  general  practice. 


44         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

The  Typographical  Union  established  its  priority  rules  in 
1892.  These  provided  that  the  oldest  competent  substitute 
should  have  the  first  vacancy  and  when  the  working  force 
was  to  be  decreased  such  decrease  was  to  be  accomplished 
by  discharging  first  the  person  or  persons  last  employed. 
Furthermore,  when  an  increase  in  the  force  was  desired,  the 
persons  displaced  should  be  reinstated  in  the  reverse  order 
in  which  they  had  been  discharged." 

This  rule  has  been  attacked  from  the  outset.  The  objec- 
tions made  to  it  have  been  summarized  by  Professor  Barnett 
as  follows:  (i)  The  power  of  men  of  superior  efficiency  to 
secure  employment  in  preference  to  workmen  of  fair  skill 
is  greatly  lessened.  (2)  The  incentive  to  high  efficiency  on 
the  part  of  the  employee  is  lessened.  (3)  The  employer  is 
less  likely  to  pay  superior  workmen  more  than  the  minimum 
rate,  for,  if  they  leave  his  service,  they  must  begin  at  the 
bottom  of  the  list  in  some  other  office.  (4)  The  distribu- 
tion of  work  is  curtailed,  for  the  foreman  is  unwilling  to 
permit  inferior  men  to  "  sub,"  for  they  would  thus  acquire 
priority  rights  in  the  office.  (5)  The  mobility  of  labor  is 
decreased,  for  a  substitute  with  priority  rights  in  one  office 
cannot  accept  a  situation  in  another  office  without  losing  his 
rights  in  the  first.^° 

The  defenders  of  the  priority  rule  claim  that  it  was  estab- 
lished to  guarantee  equality  of  rights ;  that  before  it  became 
effective  situations  were  given  out  regardless  of  the  seniority 
of  candidates  for  vacancies ;  that  under  it  a  situation  holder 
is  secure  in  his  position,  while  the  first  substitute  in  the 
office  is  assured  in  time  of  promotion  to  a  position  as  regu- 
lar; that  it  prevents  members  who  are  subbing  from  secur- 
ing situations  through  favoritism;  and  that  it  tends  to  re- 
ward long  and  faithful  service.^^     At  various  times  there 

13  Proceedings,  1892,  p.  135. 

20  George  E.  Barnett,  "  The  Printers :  A  study  in  American  Trade 
Unionism,"  in  American  Economic  Association  Quarterly,  third 
series,  vol.  10,  no.  3,  p.  241. 

^21  George  A.  Stevens,  "The  History  of  Typographical  Union 
Number  Six,"  in  Annual  Report  of  the  New  York  Bureau  of  Labor 
Statistics,  191 1,  Part  i,  pp.  529-530. 


TRADE    UNION   THEORY   OF    UNEMPLOYMENT  45 

have  been  efforts  to  abolish  the  system,  but  each  time  the 
attack  has  failed.  The  New  York  local  union  in  1908 
pointed  out  that  the  priority  rule  "has  had  a  fair  chance 
to  prove  its  merits  in  New  York  City  and  we  are  firmly  con- 
vinced that  a  continuance  of  its  enforcement  will  prove  dis- 
astrous to  the  Union."-^ 

It  appears  that  the  system  has  undergone  considerable 
changes  which  its  promoters  did  not  anticipate.  President 
Lynch  said  in  191 1  that  "  there  has  been  a  gradual  and  de- 
termined application  of  the  priority  rule  in  a  broader  and 
broader  sense  until  the  danger-point  has  been  reached,  and 
in  many  jurisdictions  it  is  not  now  a  question  of  competency 
which  determines  the  man  for  a  particular  position  but  a 
question  of  priority.  The  priority  law  has  been  in  count- 
less instances  a  great  protection  of  our  members,  but  in- 
stances are  also  on  record  where  priority  laws  have  been 
used  to  protect  the  incompetent  to  the  demoralization  of  the 
composing  room  and  to  the  discredit  of  the  local  union."^^ 

In  the  various  Railroad  Brotherhoods  seniority  rights  and 
privileges  are  in  effect.  The  men  are  classified  in  certain 
groups  in  order  of  seniority,  and  the  men  last  taken  on  are 
not  entitled  to  any  work  until  the  men  in  the  various  groups 
are  receiving  runs  totaling  a  certain  number  of  miles. 
Thus,  in  periods  of  depression  the  young  men  are  placed  on 
the  extra  list  and  receive  employment  only  after  those  with 
greater  seniority  rights  earn  a  certain  amount  of  money  per 
month.  This  system  has  led  to  considerable  discussion  in 
the  Brotherhoods,  but  the  older  men  appear  to  be  firmly 
entrenched  and  the  younger  men,  realizing  that  some  day 
they  will  have  the  same  priority  rights  as  the  older  men  now 
enjoy,  do  not  strongly  object.  In  some  cases  the  system 
has  led  to  gross  inequalities  in  employment.  Thus,  it  was 
said  in  191 5  that  one-fourth  of  the  total  membership  of  the 
Locomotive  Engineers  were  "  extra  "  men,  and  that  during 
the  previous  seven  years  on  a  certain  division  of  the  North- 

22  Ibid.,  p.  530. 

23  Reports  of  Officers  and  Proceedings  of  tlie  Fifty-seventh  Ses- 
sion, 191 1,  p.  39. 


46         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

em  Pacific  Railroad,  the  "  extra  "  men  did  not  average  over 
$75.00  per  month,  while  those  with  greater  seniority  rights 
averaged  $175.00  per  month.^* 

Some  unions  have  gone  farther  than  acquiring  seniority 
rights  for  the  trade  over  which  they  have  jurisdiction,  and 
have  created  rights  in  subsidiary  trades.  Thus,  when  it 
becomes  necessary  to  reduce  the  number  of  locomotive  en- 
gineers on  the  engineers'  working  lists,  those  thus  taken  off 
who  have  been  promoted  from  the  ranks  of  firemen  in  any 
seniority  district,  may,  if  they  so  desire,  displace  any  fire- 
man who  is  their  junior  in  that  seniority  district.^*^  It  is 
said  that  during  the  depression  of  1914  one  third  of  the 
engineers  on  some  railroads  took  the  places  of  firemen,  who 
in  turn  displaced  "  hostlers. "^^ 

The  American  unions  have  attempted  to  solve  the  prob- 
lem of  unemployment  also  by  the  adoption  of  policies  of 
another  kind,  which,  it  was  thought,  would  tend  either  to 
increase  the  total  amount  of  employment  or  to  distribute 
the  employment  over  a  greater  number  of  their  members. 
Such  policies  are  (i)  restriction  of  output,  (2)  shortening 
of  the  normal  day,  and  (3)  regulation  of  overtime. 

The  policy  of  restriction  of  output  is  justified  by  a  num- 
ber of  unions  as  a  method  by  which  employment  may  be 
increased.  The  desire  to  "  make  the  work  go  round  "  is 
prevalent  chiefly  in  trades  which  experience  extreme  sea- 
sonal fluctuations,  and  where  the  output  is  restricted  in 
order  to  "make  the  seasons  longer."  The  instances  of 
union  regulations  for  the  systematic  restriction  of  output 
are  not  very  numerous,  despite  the  fact  that  the  induce- 
ments to  adopt  such  policies  are  very  great.  Fifteen  years 
ago,  a  number  of  unions  provided  in  their  constitutions  for 
a  restriction  of  output,  but  only  a  few  have  maintained 
such  policies  to  the  present  time.  The  force  of  public  opin- 
ion and  the  increasing  disinclination  of  the  employers  to 

2*  Locomotive  Engineers'  Journal,  January,  191S,  p.  36. 

25  Chicago  Joint  Agreement  between  the  Brotherhood  of  Loco- 
motive Engineers  and  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Firemen  and 
Enginemen,  May  17,  1913,  art.  11. 

28  Locomotive  Engineers'  Journal,  March,  191S,  pp.  224-225. 


TRADE   UNION   THEORY   OF   UNEMPLOYMENT  47 

bargain  with  the  unions  that  openly  declared  for  restriction 
forced  these  unions  to  abandon  such  policies.  Two  of  the 
most  glaring  and,  perhaps,  most  important  illustrations  of 
restriction  of  output  which  are  sanctioned  by  the  national 
unions,  are  those  of  the  Printers  and  the  Machinists. 

The  Typographical  Union  prohibits  the  loaning,  borrow- 
ing, purchase  or  sale  of  news  matter  in  type,  linotype,  matrix 
or  plate  form,  or  of  miscellaneous  matter  or  cuts  in  small 
forms  between  newspapers  of  a  city.  Furthermore,  the 
loaning,  borrowing,  exchange,  purchase  or  sale  of  matter 
or  matrices,  or  cuts  of  advertisements,  by  one  local  news- 
paper to  another  is  prohibited,  except  that  when  the  matrices 
of  advertisements  are  furnished  by  one  local  newspaper  to 
another,  the  text  shall  be  reproduced  within  one  week  from 
the  time  of  publication  as  nearly  like  the  original  as  possible, 
made  up,  read,  corrected,  and  proofs  be  submitted  to  the 
chairman  for  inspection. ^^  This  rule  has  been  characterized 
as  "job  making"  of  the  most  despotic  sort,  and,  although 
some  justification  has  been  attempted  for  the  rule  which 
requires  the  resetting  of  advertising  matter,  a  great  many  of 
the  members  of  the  union  criticize  the  rules  on  the  ground 
that  the  only  reason  for  their  enforcement  is  the  desire  to 
"make  work." 

The  International  Association  of  Machinists  in  1901,  pro- 
hibited its  members  from  operating  more  than  one  ma- 
chine.^' The  one-man-one-machine  rule,  however,  is  not 
operative  when  the  machines  require  no  special  skill  to  su- 
pervise them  or  are  double  machines.  This  rule  had  its 
genesis  in  an  unwritten  law  which  prevailed  in  the  trade 
before  the  organization  of  the  machinists.  And  indeed, 
many  employers  do  not  now  object  to  the  rule  when  it  is 
applied  to  establishments  which  make  large  machinery,  be- 
cause in  these  establishments  two  machines  cannot  be  effect- 
ively operated  by  a  single  workman.  However,  in  shops 
making  smaller  work,  the  rule  operates  as  a  restriction  of 
output,  for  often  one  man  is  capable  of  operating  more  than 

27  Constitution,  1915,  sec.  168. 

28  Constitution,  1901,  art.  22,  sec.  2. 


48         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN   TRADE   UNIONS 

one  machine.  Thus,  while  the  one-man-one-machine  rule 
of  the  Machinists  is  justified  in  a  great  number  of  cases, 
there  are  other  instances  where  its  operation  is  merely  a 
method  of  "making  work."  The  union  explains  that  the 
purpose  of  the  rule  is  the  physical  protection  of  the  work- 
man, but  it  seems  clear  that  this  is  not  the  only  motive.  An 
officer  of  the  union  said  in  1901 :  "  We  prevented  the  intro- 
duction of  the  two-machine  system  in  137  shops,  employing 
9,500  men,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  if  this  system  had  been 
introduced  the  force  of  men  would  have  been  reduced  one- 
eighth;  hence,  in  this  we  have  saved  the  positions  of  1,188 
men."-^ 

These  two  examples  are  by  no  means  the  only  instances 
of  restriction  of  output  in  American  unions.  Thus,  a  cu- 
rious regulation  of  the  Plumbers  for  increasing  the  con- 
sumption of  time  is  the  prohibition  upon  its  members  of 
"  the  use  of  the  bicycle  and  motorcycle  during  working 
hours. "^°  A  business  agent  when  asked  for  the  justifica- 
tion of  this  rule  stated  that  "  a  plumber  could  cover  twice 
as  many  jobs  that  way."  The  Baltimore  local  union  of 
Plumbers  prohibits  its  members  from  telephoning  to  the 
employer  when  they  are  "  out  jobbing  to  know  if  there  are 
any  more  jobs  in  the  neighborhood."^^ 

In  the  majority  of  trades  there  are  unwritten  regulations 
for  the  determination  of  the  daily  "  stint."  And,  in  the 
greater  number  of  cases,  they  have  been  handed  down  from 
one  generation  of  members  to  another.  They  are  not  in- 
corporated in  any  constitutions  or  working  rules,  but  there 
is  a  tacit  understanding  among  the  members  as  to  what  con- 
stitutes a  day's  work.  Frequently  these  restrictions  exist 
to  the  same  extent  among  non-unionists  in  the  same  trades. 

However,  there  are  frequent  instances  where  local  unions 
have  formulated  definite  schedules  under  which  the  output 
has  been  restricted.     Thus,  in  May,  1899,  the  Chicago  local 

29  Eleventh  Special  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor,  1904, 
p.  143. 

2°  Constitution,  1913,  sec.  125. 

31  Working  Rules  of  Local  Union,  Number  48,  1914,  art.  12. 


TRADE    UNION   THEORY   OF   UNEMPLOYMENT  49 

union  of  Plumbers  adopted  a  set  of  working  rules  which 
specified  the  amount  of  work  which  was  to  be  considered  a 
day's  work.  When  a  journeyman  was  working  on  lead 
work,  eight  wiped  joints  should  constitute  a  day's  work,  and 
"  when  finishing  on  flats,  apartments,  hotel  or  office  build- 
ings, one  fixture  shall  be  considered  an  average  day's  work, 
except  in  the  case  of  laundry  tubs,  when  each  apartment 
shall  constitute  one  fixture."^-  The  outcome  of  the  adop- 
tion of  these  rules  was  a  general  lockout  in  February,  1900, 
and  this  device  for  restricting  output  was  abandoned, 
although  President  Kelley  of  the  Plumbers  stated  that  the 
rules  were  formulated  in  order  to  prevent  "  rushing."^^ 

To  stun  up,  it  may  be  said  that  policies  of  systematic  re- 
striction of  output  do  not  exist  to  a  great  extent  in  Ameri- 
can unions.  Generally  speaking,  those  rules  which  are  in 
force  have  not  been  dictated  by  selfish  or  sectional  class  in- 
terests alone,  but  by  the  desire  to  prevent  a  speeding  up  of 
the  workmen  which  threatens  physical  injury.  It  is  not 
desired,  however,  to  minimize  the  importance  of  that  aspect 
of  the  problem  which  has  to  do  with  the  desire  to  "make 
the  work  go  round."  It  is  generally  admitted  by  unionists 
that  this  is  an  important  motive  for  the  maintenance  of  such 
policies.  The  ever-present  fear  of  being  thrown  out  of 
work  leads  the  workmen  to  reduce  output  in  order  to  make 
the  work  last  as  long  as  possible. 

It  is  very  doubtful  whether  restriction  of  output  affects 
to  any  extent  the  amount  of  unemployment.  If  restriction 
were  applied  only  in  seasons  of  depression,  such  might  be 
the  effect,  but  restriction  of  output  on  the  part  of  individual 
workmen  generally  occurs  in  periods  of  prosperity.  The 
employers  maintain  that  in  busy  times  men  work  at  a  more 
leisurely  pace  than  they  do  in  dull  times,  and  the  reason  for 
this  difference  is  obvious.  When  every  member  of  the  local 
union  is  employed  and  there  is  need  for  additional  work- 
men, some  workmen  do  no  more  than  is  absolutely  neces- 


»2  Report  of  the  Industrial  Commission,  1901,  vol.  8,  p.  407. 
« Ibid.,  p.  966. 
4 


50         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

sary  because  they  do  not  fear  immediate  discharge.  On  the 
Other  hand,  however,  when  only  two-thirds  of  the  trade  is 
employed,  the  other  third  being  idle  but  anxious  to  secure 
work,  the  workmen  who  have  employment  will  exert  them- 
selves to  do  all  they  can,  knowing  that  many  unemployed 
men  are  waiting  for  any  vacancy  that  may  occur. 

Closely  linked  with  the  policy  of  restriction  of  output,  as 
a  means  of  partially  solving  the  problem  of  unemployment, 
is  the  union  policy  of  decreasing  the  working  hours  of  the 
normal  day.  Unionists  and  unorganized  workmen  have,  at 
all  times,  demanded  the  reduction  of  the  hours  of  labor. 
While  the  unorganized  workmen  have  not  succeeded  as 
well,  the  unions  have,  to  a  very  considerable  extent,  secured 
the  eight-hour  day.^* 

The  unions,  in  their  demands  for  a  shorter  working  day, 
have  developed  their  argument  along  two  lines.  For  the 
benefit  of  the  employers  and  the  general  public,  the  unions 
offer  as  exhibits,  the  case  of  those  members  employed  at 
hazardous  occupations  which  require  uninterrupted  atten- 
tion in  order  to  guard  against  physical  injury,  and  that  of 
the  workmen  employed  at  tasks  which  consist  of  perform- 
ing the  same  operation  several  thousand  times  during  the 
day.  They  depict  such  workmen  returning  home,  after 
working  ten  or  more  hours,  physically  exhausted.  They 
demand  for  their  members  such  working  conditions  that 
there  may  be  "  eight  hours  for  work,  eight  hours  for  rest, 
and  eight  hours  for  what  we  will."  It  is  argued  that  the 
increased  productivity  which  will  result  from  the  shortening 
of  the  working  day  will  more  than  compensate  them  for  the 
increase  in  the  hourly  wages.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
unions  frequently  offer  a  different  explanation  to  their  mem- 
bers of  their  desire  for  the  shorter  day.  They  are  told  that 
to  decrease  the  working  hours  is  the  one  sure  way  to  solve 


3*  Of  the  21,165  union  members  reporting  to  the  Wisconsin  Fed- 
eration of  Labor  in  1913,  11,552,  or  54.6  per  cent  had  secured  a  nor- 
mal working  day  of  eight  hours  or  less.  The  average  daily  working 
hours  for  the  entire  number  was  8J4  ("Labor  Conditions  in  Wis- 
consin," Second  Report  by  the  Executive  Board  of  the  Wisconsin 
State  Federation  of  Labor,  July  i,  1914,  p.  13). 


TRADE   UNION   THEORY   OF   UNEMPLOYMENT  51 

the  problem  of  unemployment.  Thus  President  O'Connell 
of  the  Machinists  said  in  1901 :  "There  are  150,000  machin- 
ists in  this  country,  and  an  hour  taken  off  their  day's  labor 
would  give  employment  to  16,666  more  machinists. "^^  Thus 
the  problem  would  be  solved.  The  average  workman,  who 
has  been  working  ten  hours  a  day,  appears  to  believe  this. 
He  thinks  that  if  his  normal  day  were  reduced  from  ten  to 
eight  hours,  his  output  would  certainly  not  be  the  same,  and 
thus  work  would  be  furnished  for  his  unemployed  fellow 
members.  This  aspect  of  the  question  makes  a  great  im- 
pression upon  the  workman.  It  is  said  that  during  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  eight-hour  day  at  union  meetings,  references 
to  the  opportunities  for  study  and  for  more  recreation  which 
a  shorter  work  day  would  bring,  result  only  in  a  modicum 
of  applause,  while  a  word  picture  of  the  horrors  of  unem- 
ployment rarely  fails  to  elicit  the  tumultuous  appreciation 
of  the  audience.^" 

Such  illustrations  are  not  fanciful.  The  American  Fed- 
eration of  Labor  has  adopted,  according  to  an  expositor, 
the  principle  that  "  the  movement  to  reduce  the  hours  of 
labor  is  not  to  shirk  the  duty  of  toil,  but  as  the  humane 
means  by  which  the  workless  workers  may  find  the  road  to 
employment."^^  The  Plumbers  provide  in  their  constitu- 
tion that  eight  hours  shall  constitute  a  normal  working  day, 
and  explain  that  "  inasmuch  as  the  business  throughout  the 
country  is  insufficient  to  furnish  employment  to  more  than 
50  or  75  per  cent  of  the  journeymen,  and  recognizing  that 
by  reducing  the  hours  of  labor  it  will  have  a  tendency  to 
keep  more  men  employed,  the  Saturday  half-holiday  is  rec- 
ommended to  all  local  unions. "^^  President  Kelley  of  the 
Plumbers  in  1900  set  forth  the  union  theory  of  the  shorter 
working  day  in  its  barest  form  as  follows :  "  When  our 
members  decrease  the  number  of  working  hours  of  a  given 
day  it  simply  means  that  more  of  them  will  be  provided  with 

35  Machinists'  Journal,  April,  1901,  p.  199. 

3"  Isaac  H.  Mitchell,  "The  Unemployed  Problem,"  in  The  Nine- 
teenth Century,  July,  1905,  P-  ii7- 

•■'7  The  Bridgemen's  Magazine,  January,  1910,  p.  9. 
38  Constitution,  1913,  sees.  118-119. 


52  UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

employment,  and  as  a  consequence,  as  we  relieve  the  market 
of  its  unemployed  surplus,  we  simply  provide  for  the  un- 
failing operation  of  the  law  of  supply  and  demand,  and 
through  this  means  make  possible  the  inevitable  demand 
that  will  be  created  for  our  labor."^^ 

The  Painters  at  their  convention  in  191 3  adopted  the  fol- 
lowing resolution :  "  Inasmuch  as  the  average  painter  is  em- 
ployed not  more  than  seven  or  eight  months  in  a  year,  and 
as  the  only  permanent  remedy  for  this  condition  Hes  in  the 
proportionate  shortening  of  the  working  day,  we  instruct 
the  Executive  Board  to  do  all  in  its  power  to  put  into  sub- 
stantial effect  the  six-hour  day."*°  Secretary  McGuire  of 
the  Carpenters  and  Joiners  as  early  as  1888  said  that  "  by 
reducing  the  hours  of  labor  we  are  furnishing  employment 
for  our  unemployed"";  and  the  Editor  of  the  Bridge  and 
Structural  Iron  Workers'  journal  probably  stated  succinctly 
the  union's  belief  when  he  said :  "  Trade  unions  shorten  the 
hours  of  labor  to  place  more  men  at  work."*- 

While  a  great  number  of  trade  unionists  still  hold  this 
belief  in  the  effect  of  the  eight-hour  day  on  unemployment, 
some  of  them  have  changed  their  former  attitude.  In  1898 
President  Gompers  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor 
stated  that  "  in  every  industry  where  the  hours  of  labor  have 
been  reduced  through  the  efforts  of  organized  labor,  it  has 
been  followed  by  these  results:  wages  have  been  increased, 
periods  or  seasons  of  employment  have  been  lengthened 
and  the  number  of  unemployed  has  been  reduced."*^  But 
in  191 5,  in  "The  Philosophy  of  the  Shorter  Working  Day," 
he  says  that  "the  individual  production  of  the  short-hours, 
highly-paid  worker  is  vastly  greater  than  that  of  the  long- 
hours  worker."^*  If  this  is  accepted  as  true,  no  employment 
has  been  created  for  those  out  of  work.  Likewise,  the  atti- 
tude of  President  Duncan  of  the  Granite  Cutters  has  under- 

39  Proceedings,  1900,  p.  14. 

*o  Proceedings,  1913,  p.  631. 

*i  Proceedings,  1888,  p.  18. 

*2  Bridgemen's  Magazine,  March,  1914,  p.  149. 

*3  Leather  Workers'  Journal,  September,  1898,  p.  4. 

**  American  Federationist,  March,  1915,  p.  167. 


TRADE   UNION   THEORY   OF   UNEMPLOYMENT  53 

gone  a  considerable  change.  Writing  in  1909  he  said  1  "  It 
was  to  help  in  the  elimination  of  poverty  that  organized 
workmen  agitated  for  a  reduction  of  the  working  hours  per 
day,  and  the  fact  that  they  now  enjoy  a  shorter  work  day 
gives  employment  to  many  who,  under  the  old  method, 
would  be  idle,  and  each  person  so  employed  is  a  step  in  the 
trade  union  campaign  against  poverty."*^  But  in  1914  he 
stated  that  the  reduction  of  the  hours  in  the  Granite  Cutters 
from  ten  to  nine,  and  then  to  eight,  had  neither  lengthened 
the  seasons  of  employment  nor  given  work  to  those  un- 
employed.*^ 

Trade  unionists  have,  in  the  past  few  years,  come  to 
realize  that  not  only  is  their  explanation  of  the  eflfect  of  a 
shorter  working  day  on  unemployment  false  in  theory,  but 
that  it  did  not  work  in  practice.  With  but  few  exceptions, 
the  officials  and  members  admit  that  the  eight-hour  day 
has  not  decreased  unemployment.  The  explanation  is  made 
that  the  individual  production  is  the  same  in  both  cases. 
President  Gompers  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor 
has  stated  that  "  there  has  been  no  diminution  of  output  by 
reason  of  the  reduction  of  hours  from  ten  to  eight.  In  not 
a  few  cases  the  output  has  not  varied  from  the  results  of 
ten  hours,  the  number  of  human  workers  remaining  the  same 
in  proportion."*'^  It  is  only  in  the  building  trades  that  the 
workmen  still  claim  that  the  output  in  an  eight-hour  day  is 
less  than  under  the  ten-hour  day,  and  here  in  a  few  trades, 
especially  those  of  the  plumbers  and  the  painters,  it  appears 
that  this  is  true.*^ 

*5  Bridgemen's  Magazine,  January,  1910,  p.  14. 

<6  Granite  Cutters'  Journal,  August,  1914,  p.  2. 

^'^  Brauer-Zeitung,  March  25,  1911,  p.  i. 

*^  For  an  account  of  the  results  which  have  been  obtained  in  sev- 
eral large  establishments  through  a  reduction  of  the  working  hours 
from  ten  to  eight  per  day,  the  reader  is  referred  to  a  most  instructive 
article,  "  The  Eight-Hour  Day,"  by  C.  J.  Morrison  in  the  Engineer- 
ing Magazine,  December,  191 5,  pp.  363-366.  Mr.  Morrison  shows 
that  manufacturers  have  limited  their  working  day  to  an  eight-hour 
basis  without  diminution  of  output ;  indeed,  in  some  cases,  more 
goods  were  produced  under  the  eight-hour  day  and  at  lower  costs. 
For  other  accounts  of  the  results  of  the  operation  of  the  eight-hour 
day,  the  reader  is  referred  to  Thomas  K.  Urdahl,  "  The  Normal  Day 


54         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

The  question  of  the  regulation  of  overtime  is  closely  con- 
nected with  that  of  the  shortening  of  the  normal  day.  When 
a  union  has  secured  a  reduction  of  working  hours,  it  is  ex- 
tremely reluctant  to  allow  its  members  to  work  overtime.  A 
member  working  overtime  is  looked  upon  as  receiving  em- 
ployment which  should  be  given  to  those  out  of  work. 
Thus,  President  Woll  of  the  Photo-Engravers  deprecates 
the  "  unjust  practice  of  some  of  the  members  who  work 
excessive  overtime  while  others  are  denied  the  opportunity 
of  employment."*^  The  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  local  union  of 
Bricklayers  and  Masons  explains  that  its  members  are  pro- 
hibited from  working  overtime  because  "the  object  of  regu- 
lar hours  is  to  afford  work  for  as  many  as  possible."®*^ 

In  order  to  discourage  the  employers  from  resorting  to 
overtime,  the  unions  have  demanded  that  a  wage  rate  con- 
siderably higher  than  that  paid  for  work  performed  during 
the  normal  day,  should  be  paid  for  all  overtime.  Generally, 
"  time-and-half  "  is  asked,  although  in  certain  cases  over- 
time is  paid  for  at  **  double-time."  A  few  unions  have  gone 
further  and  prohibited  their  members  from  working  over- 
time, except  under  certain  circumstances.  Thus,  the  Granite 
Cutters  provide  that  "  overtime  is  not  to  be  worked  except 
in  cases  of  emergency,  such  as  the  spoiling  or  breaking  of 
stone,  delay  in  quarrying  large  sizes,  where  a  stone  is  re- 
quired to  finish  a  building  or  where  an  accident  has  hap- 
pened."^^  The  Metal  Polishers  prohibit  members  from 
working  overtime  unless  all  vacancies  are  filled,  and  then 
only  when  overtime  is  absolutely  necessary,^^  'pj^g  Spinners 
prohibit  members  from  working  overtime  under  any  circum- 
stances.^^ 

The  emphasis  laid  upon  the  restrictions  on  overtime  as 

in  Coal  Mines,"  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  First  Annual  Meeting  of 
the  American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation,  1907,  pp.  50  et  seq., 
and  to  the  American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  March,  1914,  pp.  106, 
107  and  pp.  117-119. 

*»  American  Photo-Engraver,  October,  1915,  p.  469. 

s"  Constitution,  1912,  art.  9,  sec.  9. 

^1  Constitution,  1912,  sec.  95. 

s*  Constitution,  1913,  art.  35,  sec.  8. 

^3  Proceedings,  1913,  p.  9. 


TRADE   UNION   THEORY   OF   UNEMPLOYMENT  55 

a  means  of  increasing  employment  is  further  illustrated  by 
the  rules  of  certain  unions  which  provide  that  when  a  mem- 
ber works  overtime,  he  shall  at  some  future  time  lay  oft  an 
equal  amount  of  time.  The  Printers  have  formulated  a 
rule,  known  as  the  "  six-day-law,"  which  prohibits  its  mem- 
bers from  working  more  than  forty-eight  hours  per  week,  if 
a  substitute  is  available.  Should  a  printer,  through  inability 
to  secure  a  substitute,  work  a  greater  number  than  six  days 
in  any  one  week,  or  whenever  his  overtime  aggregates  eight 
hours,  he  is  forced  to  give  the  first  available  substitute  the 
opportunity  to  work  the  exact  number  of  hours  which  his 
accumulated  overtime  amounts  to.  The  local  unions  are 
allowed  to  specify  the  period  during  which  this  extra  time 
is  to  accumulate,  "provided  that  it  is  not  less  than  thirty 
days.** 

The  Railroad  Brotherhoods  limit  the  mileage  or  earnings 
of  members  when  other  members  are  unemployed.  The 
engineers,  for  example,  who  are  on  "work-lists  "  are  placed 
in  one  of  three  classes,  (i)  pooled  or  chain  gang  freight, 
(2)  extra  road,  or  (3)  extra  switching.  In  the  busy  season 
the  men  are  transferred  from  one  list  to  another  to  suit  the 
demand.  The  crews  in  each  class  are  given  runs  in  the 
order  in  which  they  arrive  at  the  terminal  from  previous 
runs,  and  so  long  as  the  men  in  the  various  classes  are 
securing  regular  employment  and  there  are  none  unem- 
ployed, they  are  not  limited  to  a  certain  amount  of  work. 
But  when  the  earnings  of  some  men  exceed  a  certain 
amount,  while  others  who  rightly  belong  in  that  class  are 
unemployed,  or  are  receiving  less  than  a  certain  amount,  a 
limit  is  placed  upon  the  individual  members.  Thus,  those 
in  pooled  or  chain  gang  freight  service  cannot  average  more 
than  three  thousand  miles  per  month ;  those  on  the  extra 
road  list  are  limited  to  the  equivalent  of  twenty-two  hun- 
dred miles  per  month ;  and  those  in  extra  switching  service 
are  not  allowed  more  than  twenty-two  days  work  in  a 
month.     The   result  of   these   rules   is  that  whenever  the 

s*  Constitution,  191 5,  sec.  105. 


56         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

average  earnings  exceed  the  various  amounts  while  there 
are  members  unemployed,  a  sufficient  number  of  workmen 
must  be  added  to  the  list  to  bring  the  earnings  within  the 
proper  limit."' 

While  one  of  the  motives  for  the  regulation  of  overtime 
in  all  unions  has  been  the  desire  to  give  work  to  the  unem- 
ployed, there  has  also  been  present  in  the  seasonal  trades, 
the  idea  that  a  regulation  of  the  working  day  would  tend  to 
shorten  the  seasons  of  unemployment.  Especially  has  this 
been  the  case  in  the  building  trades.  President  Duncan,  of 
the  Granite  Cutters,  for  many  years  has  exhorted  the  local 
unions  to  abolish  all  overtime,  and  thus  force  the  employers 
to  give  up  the  custom  of  rushing  the  work  in  summer  in 
order  to  close  down  the  entire  plant  in  winter.^®  In  the 
building  trades,  even  during  periods  in  which  there  are  few 
unemployed,  the  local  unions  are  generally  unwilling  to  have 
their  members  work  overtime. 

The  actual  results  of  the  abolition  of  overtime  in  lengthen- 
ing the  working  season  have  been  entirely  contrary,  in  the 
greater  number  of  cases,  to  what  was  expected  by  the 
unions.  The  unions  have  failed  to  understand  that  even  if 
less  were  produced  in  the  eight-hour  day  than  in  a  longer 
working  day,  the  natural  tendency  would  be  for  the  em- 
ployers to  increase  their  working  force  rather  than  the  length 
of  the  season.  In  the  building  trades,  for  instance,  were  the 
employers  unable,  through  the  shortening  of  the  normal  day 
and  the  abolition  of  overtime,  to  complete  their  building 
operations  in  the  customary  season,  they  would  be  forced  to 
employ  more  men.  And  inasmuch  as  all  of  the  building 
trades  mechanics  are  generally  employed  during  this  season, 
the  employers  would  recruit  their  forces  by  securing  work- 
men from  other  industries.  Such  workmen  would,  there- 
fore, be  thrown  upon  the  industry  in  the  majority  of  cases, 
and  would  have  to  be  taken  care  of  in  the  dull  seasons. 

"5  Chicago  Joint  Agreement  between  the  Brotherhood  of  Loco- 
motive Engineers  and  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Firemen  and 
Enginemen,  May  17,  1913,  art.  11. 

^^  Granite  Cutters'  Journal,  February,  1914,  p.  4. 


CHAPTER   in 
Local  Union  Employment  Bureaus 

There  is  a  great  need  in  every  industrial  community  for 
some  agency  through  which  the  demand  for  and  the  supply 
of  labor  can  be  adjusted.  On  account  of  the  seasonal  fluc- 
tuations of  trades,  the  variations  in  the  demands  of  indi- 
vidual employers  in  consequence  of  peculiarities  of  their 
markets,  and  the  continuous  changes  in  the  personnel  of  the 
working  force  of  each  business  unit,  there  is  at  all  times 
more  or  less  maladjustment.  The  employment  bureau  is 
justified  when  there  is  unemployment  due  to  the  inability  of 
employers  to  get  into  contact  quickly  with  the  unemployed 
who  are  capable  of  meeting  their  requirements. 

In  descriptions  of  the  existing  employment  bureaus  of  the 
United  States  the  activities  of  the  trade  unions  have  gen- 
erally been  omitted  or  given  minor  consideration.  This  is 
due  either  to  the  fact  that  the  proportion  of  workmen  who 
are  organized  is  small,  or  that  the  majority  of  the  trade- 
union  employment  bureaus  are  not  merely  employment 
bureaus.  Furthermore,  one  cannot  learn  of  the  activities 
of  the  unions  in  this  connection  by  a  study  of  their  litera- 
ture. Many  trade  unionists  when  asked  whether  their  union 
maintains  an  employment  bureau  will  answer  in  the  nega- 
tive although  their  particular  union  may  possibly  have  a  very 
practical  method  of  securing  work  for  its  members.  The 
difficulty  lies  in  the  fact  that  there  is  prevalent  the  idea 
that  an  employment  bureau  is  an  office  with  card  indexes 
and  an  attendant  who  is  entirely  occupied  in  registering  the 
names  of  the  unemployed  and  receiving  applications  for 
workmen  from  employers.  The  trade  unionist  thinks  it 
only  natural  that  his  business  agent  should  secure  work  for 
him  when  he  is  unemployed.     This,  he  considers,  is  one  of 

57 


58         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

the  principal  benefits  of  the  union,  but  he  does  not  term 
such  an  agency  an  employment  bureau. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  need  for  an  employment  bureau 
varies  in  the  different  trades.  In  those  trades  where  the 
period  of  employment  is  relatively  long,  as  in  the  printing 
trade,  the  glass  industry,  and  the  various  railroad  trades, 
there  is  little  need  for  local  employment  bureaus.  The  main- 
tenance of  a  business  agent  in  such  trades  would  ordinarily 
be  uneconomical.  The  business  agent  is  peculiarly  the 
product  of  the  building  trades  unions.  The  need  for  such 
an  official  is  great  in  these  trades  because  of  the  short  term 
of  employment. 

Inasmuch  as  the  local  union  generally  provides  for  bring- 
ing unemployed  members  into  connection  with  the  proffered 
employment,  the  national  unions  have  given  little  considera- 
tion to  the  question  of  local-union  employment  bureaus. 
The  only  exceptions  appear  to  be  the  Ladies  Garment  Work- 
ers,^ the  United  Garment  Workers,^  the  Lithographers,'  and 
the  Cigar  Makers,*  all  of  which  require  their  local  unions 
to  "establish  labor  bureaus  for  the  purpose  of  designating 
work  to  the  unemployed."  In  the  constitutions  of  the  local 
unions  there  are  seldom  found  any  provisions  for  the  main- 
tenance of  employment  bureaus  because  this  is  considered 
to  be  one  of  the  essential  functions  of  the  unions,  which  it  is 
unnecessary  to  particularize. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  average  member  of  a  union  in 
search  of  employment  secures  help  from  his  local  through 
one  or  more  of  the  following  sources:  (i)  the  business 
agent  or  secretary,  (2)  the  shop  collector,  (3)  fellow 
members. 

In  practically  every  organized  trade  there  are  some  local 
unions  which  provide  for  the  employment  of  an  official  who 
is  paid  a  salary  sufficient  to  permit  a  capable  member  to  give 
his  entire  time  to  the  duties  of  the  office.     Such  officers  are 

1  Constitution,  1914,  art.  12,  sec.  2. 

2  Constitution,  1912,  art.  13,  sec.  2. 

3  Constitution,  1913,  art.  11,  sec.  i. 
*  Constitution,  1912,  sec.  131. 


LOCAL   UNION    EMPLOYMENT   BUREAUS 


59 


known  as  business  agents  or  secretaries.  The  maintenance 
of  such  an  office  entails  the  expenditure  of  a  considerable 
sum  of  money.  The  salaries  of  business  agents  vary  from 
$20.00  to  $50.00  per  week,  while  the  average  is  perhaps 
$30.00,  and  there  are  incidental  expenses  of  $5.00  per  week. 
A  local  union  expends,  on  the  average,  about  $1900  a  year 
for  a  business  agent.  It  is  obvious  that  only  those  local 
unions  which  have  a  considerable  membership  can  afford  this 
expense. 

In  a  few  cases  the  expense  of  maintaining  business  agents 
is  shared  by  the  national  unions.  Thus,  the  Machinists 
assist  local  unions  in  maintaining  business  agents  in  any  city 
"if  after  due  investigation  it  is  found  that  the  interests 
of  the  organization  warrant  the  expense."^  The  Pattern 
Makers  in  1913  assisted  several  of  its  local  unions  to  support 
paid  representatives,®  and  the  Blacksmiths  for  many  years 
have  subsidized  all  local  union  business  agents  by  paying 
one-half  of  their  expenses.'^  In  the  Molders  the  expense 
of  maintaining  the  business  agents  of  the  twenty-two  Con- 
ference Boards  is  partly  met  by  a  subsidy  of  five  cents  per 
capita  per  month  and  in  some  cases  by  an  additional  sum.' 
The  Teamsters,  Metal  Polishers,  Brass  Workers,  and 
several  other  unions  help  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  local- 
union  business  agents  when  the  unions  are  in  need  of  assist- 
ance. Frequently,  several  local  unions  of  allied  trades  no 
one  of  which  would  be  able  alone  to  support  a  business 
agent,  together  maintain  a  paid  representative.  This  occurs 
generally  among  the  building  trades  in  small  cities. 

It  is  found  that  the  majority  of  local  unions  which  main- 
tain business  agents  are  either  in  the  building  trades,  or  if 
in  other  trades,  those  of  large  membership.  In  1915,  320 
local  unions  of  the  Carpenters  and  Joiners  maintained  busi- 
ness agents.  The  Chicago  local  unions  had  29  agents,  while 
New  York  had  16,  Boston,  12,  and  Philadelphia  and  San 

6  Constitution,  1913,  art.  10,  sec.  i. 

*  Proceedings,  1913,  p.  I4- 

■^Interview  with  Secretary  Kramer,  August,  1915. 

»  Constitution,  1914,  art.  20,  sec.  6. 


60  UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

Francisco  each  had  7.  In  the  Painters,  there  were  275  local 
unions  which  employed  business  agents,  the  Chicago  branch 
maintaining  15.  Of  the  760  local  unions  of  Machinists,  47 
had  business  agents.  Thirty-seven  of  the  345  local  unions 
of  Boilermakers,  69  of  the  118  branches  of  the  Bridge  and 
Structural  Iron  Workers,  23  of  the  35  local  unions  of 
Elevator  Constructors,  and  45  of  the  90  local  unions  of  the 
Pattern  Makers  also  employed  representatives  in  191 5.  Of 
the  other  unions,  the  majority  have  business  agents  in  the 
large  cities  and  in  the  industrial  centers  of  their  particular 
trades. 

The  duties  of  the  business  agent  are  varied.  Generally 
speaking,  he  acts  as  treasurer  of  the  union;  he  visits  the 
different  jobs  to  see  that  all  those  working  at  his  trade  are 
"paid up"  members;  he  settles  disputes  between  the  mem- 
bers and  the  employers,  interprets  the  rules  of  the  union, 
and  acts  as  an  employment  agent.  Thus,  as  one  of  the 
duties  of  the  business  agent  of  the  New  York  local  union  of 
bookbinders,  it  is  provided  that  "he  (the  business  agent) 
shall  keep  a  record  containing  the  names  of  the  unemployed 
reporting  for  work  and  he  shall  find  where  men  are  wanted 
and  adopt  the  speediest  methods  of  notifying  said  members 
of  such  vacancies.""  The  business  agent  of  the  Baltimore 
local  union  of  bricklayers  and  masons  is  required  "  to  use 
all  honorable  means  to  procure  work  for  the  unemployed 
and  to  visit  all  builders  and  contemplative  builders  and  en- 
deavor to  secure  their  work  for  the  members  of  the  union. "^" 

While  the  activities  of  business  agents  have  probably  re- 
ceived more  criticism  than  those  of  any  other  union  official, 
it  is  no  doubt  true  that  the  agent  is  of  great  real  benefit  to 
the  organized  workmen.  The  average  business  agent  is  a 
well-informed  man.  He  is  on  the  alert  at  all  times  to  secure 
employment  for  the  members  of  the  union.  While  his 
primary  object  is  to  make  every  job  a  union  job,  it  is  in 

^  Constitution,  1903,  art.  5,  sec.  6. 
^°  Constitution,  1909,  art.  10,  sec.  7. 


LOCAL   UNION    EMPLOYMENT   BUREAUS  6 1 

consequence  of  this  desire  that  he  is  efficient  in  supplying 
employers  with  workmen.  His  primary  occupation  is  to 
learn  of  developments  in  his  trade.  He  knows  the  condi- 
tion of  every  job  within  his  jurisdiction,  the  prospects  for 
the  future  employment  of  his  members,  and  the  immediate 
chances  for  securing  work  at  each  job. 

Let  us  consider,  for  instance,  the  activities  of  a  business 
agent  in  the  building  trades.  In  the  morning  before  the 
members  begin  work  he  spends  an  hour  at  his  office  in  order 
to  take  care  of  any  employment  which  the  employers  may 
have  to  offer.  Then  he  spends  a  part  of  the  day  in  visiting 
the  various  buildings  on  which  his  members  are  employed. 
He  consults  the  employers  and  the  foremen  as  to  their  need 
for  workers.  He  secures  from  the  architects  a  list  of  pros- 
pective building  operations  and  visits  the  contractors  or 
owners.  Thus  he  learns  of  practically  every  opportunity 
for  the  employment  of  members  of  the  union. 

The  business  agent  does  not,  like  the  average  employment- 
bureau  official,  wait  for  employment  to  be  offered,  but  makes 
a  survey  of  the  field  and  applies  direct  to  the  prospective 
employer.  Furthermore,  he  is  far  more  efficient  than  the 
average  employment-bureau  agent  in  that  he  is  a  specialist. 
He  knows  his  own  trade  perfectly ;  he  knows  the  ability  of 
each  of  his  men  and  his  characteristics ;  and  he  appreciates 
the  peculiarities  of  the  employers  and  the  conditions  sur- 
rounding the  various  jobs.  He  considers  these  conditions 
before  he  recommends  one  of  his  men  to  an  employer.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  ability  of  an  official  of  an  employment 
bureau  to  cater  to  any  particular  trade  is  limited.  He  is 
forced  to  deal  with  more  than  one  trade  and  as  his  knowl- 
edge of  each  is  limited  his  selection  of  men  is  more  or  less 
haphazard.  No  amount  of  questioning  by  the  employment 
agent  can  produce  a  knowledge  of  those  peculiarities  of  the 
individual  workmen  which  the  business  agent,  through  long 
association,  has  discovered,  and  an  acquaintance  with  which 
is  so  useful  to  him  in  selecting  workmen  for  particular  jobs. 


62         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

The  Chicago  business  agent  of  the  Pattern  Makers  thus 
explains  why  employers  apply  to  the  union  for  men : 

"  The  business  agent  knows  his  men  and  can  furnish  a  more  satis- 
factory man  than  the  employer  can  hire  at  the  door  of  his  factory 
by  taking  men  as  they  come.  Our  members  in  their  application  for 
membership  to  the  union  and  every  time  they  send  in  an  application 
for  work,  must  state  in  the  application  the  class  of  work  that  they 
are  used  to  and  how  long  they  have  worked  at  that  class ;  besides, 
we  get  confidential  reports  from  other  sources  upon  the  special  apti- 
tude and  ability  of  our  members.  The  union  officials  claim  that, 
being  practical  pattern  makers  themselves  and  having  this  line  upon 
their  men,  they  are  more  capable  for  selecting  the  men  for  a  given 
kind  of  work  than  the  employers  themselves,  who,  while  excellent 
business  men,  are  not  practical  workmen.  We  give  them  the  best 
men  we  can  get  for  their  line  and  we  never  send  a  man  to  a  shop  to 
do  work  that  he  can  not  do,  if  we  know  it."^^ 

While  the  business  agent  spends  the  greater  part  of  the 
day  in  visiting  the  various  jobs  and  shops  where  his  mem- 
bers are  employed,  he  also  has  his  office  hours.  These  are 
known  to  the  employers  and  to  the  members  of  the  union. 
The  latter  generally  loiter  around  the  union  headquarters 
in  order  to  secure  any  employment  which  the  business  agent 
may  have  to  offer.  Some  local  unions  have  gone  further 
and  designated  certain  periods  of  the  day  during  which  ap- 
plications will  be  received  for  the  different  classes  of  work- 
men. Thus  the  Chicago  Bakers  and  Confectioners,  in  their 
1914  agreement  with  the  employers,  secured  a  provision  that 
all  bakers  must  be  secured  through  the  union's  employment 
bureau,  which  would  be  open  all  day.  But  "  steady  hands  " 
must  be  asked  for  during  the  hours  of  ten  to  twelve,  and 
"  hands  "  on  cakes  between  one  and  two  o'clock,  while  sub- 
stitutes were  to  be  had  at  all  times.  Because  of  the  fact 
that  the  employer  can  secure  a  competent  hand  on  a  few 
hours'  notice,  the  union  is  frequently  called  upon  to  furnish 
workmen.  The  employer  calls  the  business  agent  by  tele- 
phone and  asks  for  a  certain  kind  of  workman.  Generally, 
the  desired  man  can  be  found  among  those  waiting  about 
the  hall,  or  one  can  soon  be  notified  by  means  of  the  tele- 
phone number  which  each  man  on  the  unemployed  list  gives 
to  the  business  agent,  and  the  employer  is  furnished  the 

11  Regulation  and  Restriction  of  Output,  Eleventh  Special  Report 
of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  (Washington,  1904),  p.  188. 


LOCAL   UNION    EMPLOYMENT   BUREAUS  63 

desired  workmen  within  a  short  time.  This  is  practically- 
impossible  in  the  case  of  any  other  employment  bureau.  It 
has  been  stated  by  the  Chicago  employers  of  union  pattern 
makers  that  they  receive  their  men  through  the  union  as 
a  matter  of  choice  because  "  it  is  much  easier  to  telephone  to 
union  headquarters  for  a  man  than  to  get  one  in  any  other 
way,"  and  further  that  "the  union  does  try  to  send  a  man 
best  suited  to  the  needs."^^ 

It  is  obvious  that  the  ability  to  secure  a  workman  on  an 
hour's  notice  is  very  convenient  to  employers.  Consider 
for  instance  the  case  of  bakers.  When  the  shop  starts  to 
work  it  may  be  found  that  several  "  first  hands  "  are  absent 
on  account  of  sickness  or  other  cause,  or  that  it  is  necessary 
to  provide  for  extra  orders.  In  such  cases  the  employer 
requires  the  services  of  additional  men  within  one  or  two 
hours,  and  the  union's  employment  bureau  is  usually  able 
to  meet  the  requirement. 

But  the  business  agent  goes  further  than  merely  receiv- 
ing applications  for  men,  and  sometimes  adopts  ingenious 
methods  of  securing  employment  for  his  constituents.  He 
scans  the  want  advertisements  of  the  press  in  hope  that 
there  may  be  found  opening  for  his  members.  He  secures 
publicity  by  advertising  that  employers  may  secure  work- 
men from  him  on  a  few  hours'  notice  by  merely  telephoning 
to  his  office.  By  means  of  such  methods  many  odd  jobs 
are  filled.  Thus,  the  business  agent  of  the  Memphis,  Ten- 
nessee, Carpenters  and  Joiners'  local  union  reported : 

We  send  out  one  thousand  circulars  each  month  for  the  purpose 
of  refreshing  the  memory  of  our  clients  that  we  are  still  able  to 
furnish  them  mechanics.  It  is  one  of  the  good  features  of  this  office 
that  we  secure  a  great  number  of  small  jobs  from  merchants.  The 
merchants  themselves  are  pleased  with  this  arrangement  as  it  saves 
them  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  The  instances  where  our  members 
secured  employment  through  this  office  during  the  past  year 
amounted  to  twelve  hundred.  Another  point  worth  mentioning  is 
the  assistance  rendered  other  trades  by  this  office.  Frequently  we 
receive  calls  for  painters,  plasterers  and  men  of  other  crafts,  and 
as  it  helps  us  as  well  as  others  and  serves  to  make  this  institution 
more  useful  and  popular  we  are  only  too  glad  to  oblige  them  in 
this  respect.i3 

12  Ibid.,  p.  189. 

^3  The  Carpenter,  February,  1906,  p.  4. 


64  UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE    UNIONS 

It  is  obvious  that  by  requiring  the  employers  to  apply  to 
the  union  for  labor,  the  union  makes  its  employment  bureau 
more  efficient.  Such  a  course  has  been  pursued  more  or 
less  successfully  by  the  Bakers,  Barbers,  Brewery  Work- 
ers, Deutsch-Amerikanischen  Typographia,  Lithographers, 
Photo-Engravers,  Flint  Glass  Workers,  and  Potters.  Of 
course  such  a  policy  can  only  be  enforced  where  the  union 
has  thorough  control  of  the  trade ;  but  where  this  method  is 
practiced  the  union  employment  bureaus  are  put  on  a  more 
business-like  basis. 

As  was  stated  above,  the  greater  number  of  local  unions 
are  not  financially  able  to  maintain  paid  representatives. 
Such  local  unions,  however,  frequently  appoint  one  of  their 
members  to  perform  the  duties  of  a  business  agent  during 
his  spare  time.  He  is  generally  the  secretary  or  president. 
This  official  receives  from  the  employers  applications  for 
workmen  and  confers  with  the  employed  members  as  to  the 
prospects  for  work  at  the  different  shops.  Frequently  there 
is  appointed  in  each  shop  or  on  each  job  where  members  of 
the  union  are  employed  a  member  who  is  designated  the 
"  shop  collector,"  or  in  the  building  trades,  the  "  steward," 
It  is  the  duty  of  this  member  to  represent  the  union  and  to 
acquaint  himself  with  the  prospects  for  employment.  Should 
there  be  need  for  additional  workers,  it  is  his  duty  to  make 
this  known  to  the  unemployed.  At  each  meeting  of  the 
union,  the  various  shop  collectors  or  stewards  make  reports. 
The  shop  collectors  and  secretaries  are  of  great  assistance 
in  securing  employment  for  members.  The  employer 
knows  that  by  applying  to  these  men  he  will  be  supplied 
with  the  desired  number  of  workmen  more  quickly  and 
efficiently  than  by  application  to  any  other  agency.  Further- 
more, these  officials,  like  the  paid  representatives,  are  always 
on  the  alert  to  discover  possible  places  of  employment  with- 
out waiting  for  applications  from  the  employers. 

Another  source  from  which  the  union  workman  receives 
aid  in  securing  employment  is  his  fellow  workers.  One  of 
the  duties  of  a  trade  unionist  is  to  procure  work  for  his 


LOCAL    UNION    EMPLOYMENT   BUREAUS  65 

unemployed  fellow  member.  Thus,  one  of  the  duties  of 
members  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Carpenters  and  Joiners  is 
"  to  assist  each  other  to  secure  employment.""  A  member 
of  the  Bridge  and  Structural  Iron  Workers"  or  Bricklay- 
ers and  Masons^*^  takes  the  following  oath :  "  I  will  at  all 
times  by  every  honorable  means  within  my  power  procure 
work  for  members  of  this  union."  At  each  meeting  of  a 
local  union  the  president  usually  asks  the  following  ques- 
tions:  "Are  there  any  members  out  of  employment?"  and, 
"Does  anyone  know  of  any  vacancies?"  Generally,  if 
there  are  any  situations  unfilled  they  are  made  known  to  the 
unemployed.  Indeed,  several  local  unions  provide  for  the 
fining  of  those  members  who  fail  to  notify  the  union  of 
vacancies  which  are  known  to  them. 

The  permanent  headquarters  of  a  local  union  offers  a 
place  where  the  unemployed  can  congregate  and  where 
those  who  are  working  can  assemble  after  working  hours. 
The  importance  of  this  feature  of  trade-union  life  must 
not  be  overlooked.  It  is  here  that  all  the  members  meet 
and  talk  over  the  conditions  in  the  trade.  Those  who  have 
knowledge  of  vacancies  gladly,  and  one  might  say,  proudly, 
convey  such  information  to  their  fellow  members.  Pros- 
pects for  the  future  are  discussed  and  the  trade  gossip  is 
canvassed.  The  usefulness  of  such  meeting  places  has  long 
been  realized  by  the  trade  unions.  As  early  as  1893,  the 
Bricklayers  and  Masons  advised  the  local  unions  to  estab- 
lish and  maintain  headquarters  which  would  be  open  to  the 
members  at  all  hours  of  the  day.^''  During  the  past  ten 
years  other  unions  have  followed  this  example,  and  at  pres- 
ent practically  every  building-trades  union  and  the  greater 
number  of  other  unions  maintain  such  rooms. 

One  has  only  to  spend  a  short  time  in  the  headquarters  of 
a  building-trades  imion  to  find  that  the  members  arc  fully 
cognizant  of  the  local  employment  situation.     The  average 

^*  Constitution,  1914,  sec.  3. 

^5  Constitution,  1914,  p.  42. 

10  Constitution,  IQ12,  art.  12,  sec.  4. 

^'^  Proceedings,  1893,  p.  113. 

5 


66         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE    UNIONS 

union  carpenter,  for  example,  knows  of  practically  every 
job  under  construction  and  of  the  more  important  ones 
for  which  contracts  have  been  awarded.  Not  only  does  he 
know  the  name  of  the  contractor  and  general  foreman,  but 
that  of  the  foreman  whose  duty  it  is  to  engage  carpenters. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  this  lessens  the  work  of  the  business 
agent.  The  workman  does  not  ordinarily  wait  for  the  em- 
ployer to  apply  to  the  union,  but  visits  the  foreman  before- 
hand and  tries  to  obtain  a  job.  In  many  cases  this  is  done 
w^hile  the  man  is  still  engaged  upon  a  job  which  will  termi- 
nate before  work  on  the  new  building  will  be  started. 
While  this  method  of  obtaining  employment  is  generally 
termed  "caUing  around,"  it  is  very  different  from  the  hap- 
hazard means  by  which  the  unorganized  and  unskilled 
w^orkmen  secure  employment. 

There  exists  in  all  unions  the  custom  of  "  calling  around." 
Having  failed  to  secure  employment  through  the  union 
agencies  described  above,  there  remains  the  possibility  of 
applying  direct  to  the  various  employers.  In  some  unions 
this  method  is  facilitated  by  a  printed  list  of  shops  or  fac- 
tories in  which  union  members  are  employed.  Generally, 
the  business  agent  or  secretary  will  indicate  certain  estab- 
lishments at  which  there  is  the  greatest  chance  for  employ- 
ment. But  on  account  of  the  increasing  efficiency  of  the 
union  employment  bureaus  this  custom  is  gradually  disap- 
pearing. The  workmen  now  realize  that  when  the  business 
agent,  secretary  and  other  members  are  not  cognizant  of 
any  vacancies,  there  is  small  chance  of  finding  employ- 
ment. Consequently,  this  method,  which  was  at  one  time 
the  chief  means  by  which  workmen  secured  employment,  is 
rapidly  being  supplanted  by  union  agencies.  In  some  unions 
it  is  held  to  be  discreditable  for  a  member  to  ask  the  em- 
ployer directly  for  work.  Among  the  Hatters  it  is  the 
accepted  custom  that  a  member  looking  for  employment 
must  not  apply  directly  to  the  employer  but  get  another 
member  who  is  working  in  the  shop  to  apply  for  him.  Fore- 
men who  hire  hatters  in  violation  of  this  rule  are  liable  to 


LOCAL   UNION    EMPLOYMENT   BUREAUS  67 

a  fine  of  $25.00.^^     This  rule  also  obtains  to  some  degree 
among  the  Cigar  Makers.^^ 

The  methods  by  which  workmen  are  chosen  for  the  va- 
cancies which  are  reported  to  the  union  are  of  sufficient  im- 
portance to  be  mentioned.  There  are  three  usual  methods 
of  determining  which  member  shall  be  given  the  proffered 
employment:  (i)  place  on  the  out-of-work  list,  (2)  the 
decision  of  an  official,  (3)  the  drawing  of  lots. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  out-of-work  lists,  the  compulsory 
and  the  optional.  The  former  is  found  in  comparatively 
few  unions.  Under  this  method  the  names  of  the  unem- 
ployed are  kept  on  a  list  in  the  order  of  the  length  of  unem- 
ployment, that  is,  those  who  have  been  out  of  work  the 
greatest  length  of  time  are  placed  at  the  head  of  the  list. 
When  the  employer  applies  to  the  union  for  a  workman  the 
first  man  on  the  list  is  sent,  and  unless  the  employer  can 
show  that  this  man  is  unable  to  perform  the  work  he  is 
obliged  to  employ  him.  This  rule  is  found  in  general  prac- 
tice only  among  the  Miners  and  Brewery  Workers,  but  ex- 
ists in  a  great  many  local  unions  of  other  trades.  It  is 
obvious  that  such  a  custom  can  only  exist  in  a  strongly 
organized  trade,  and  where  there  is  comparatively  little  dif- 
ference in  the  skill  of  the  workers. 

The  optional  out-of-work  list  is  in  general  use  in  a  great 
many  unions.  Upon  application  the  out-of-work  list  is  fur- 
nished the  employer  and  he  is  allowed  to  take  any  man  on 
the  list.  Of  course,  if  he  should  merely  ask  that  a  work- 
man be  sent  him,  the  man  longest  unemployed  would  prob- 
ably be  designated.  Such  lists  are  maintained  by  a  great 
number  of  local  unions  of  the  Metal  Workers,  Hatter.s,  Pat- 
tern Makers,  Photo-Engravers.  Bakers,  Printers,  Litho- 
graphers, Blacksmiths,  Machinists,  Coast  Seamen,  and  of 
some  national  building-trades  unions.  The  rules  governing 
the  out-of-work  list  of  the  Coast  Seamen  are  as  follows: 
The  man  first  on  the  list  is  given  the  first  chance  at  the 

18  Interview  with  President  Martin  Lawlor,  AuRUst,  1915. 
1"  Letter  from  the  secretary  of  tlie  Tampa,  Florida,  branch  to  the 
writer,  Feb.  22,  191 3. 


68  UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

vacancy.  If  he  should  not  care  to  accept  the  employment, 
his  name  remains  on  the  list  in  the  same  order,  but  if  he 
should  be  absent  from  the  roll  call  three  consecutive  times 
his  name  is  removed  to  the  bottom  of  the  list.^° 

The  second  method — the  decision  of  an  official — is  more 
widely  used.  Generally  when  an  employer  applies  to  the 
union  for  workmen,  he  specifies  certain  requirements,  or, 
as  occurs  in  a  great  many  cases,  he  asks  for  a  particular 
man.  If  he  asks  for  a  certain  man,  this  member  if  unem- 
ployed will  be  sent.  If  he  does  not,  the  business  agent  gen- 
erally chooses  the  first  man  he  can  find  who  is  able  to  meet 
the  requirements.  In  the  building  trades  if  the  men  are 
wanted  quickly,  those  loitering  in  the  meeting  room  are 
chosen.  In  trades  in  which  there  is  a  high  degree  of  spe- 
cialization or  if  men  with  certain  qualifications  are  wanted, 
the  business  agent  generally  takes  into  consideration  all  who 
are  unemployed  before  designating  the  man  to  accept  the 
employment.  It  is  obvious  that  where  time  is  not  impor- 
tant this  is  by  far  the  best  method  of  choosing  men.  In- 
deed, as  was  said  above,  it  is  in  this  respect  that  the  business 
agent  excels  the  ordinary  employment  bureau  officials. 

It  is  to  be  admitted  that  by  giving  a  union  official  the 
power  of  designating  the  person  to  fill  a  vacancy  a  fertile 
field  for  favoritism  is  opened,  and  disgruntled  workmen 
have  frequently  asserted  that  the  chances  for  securing  em- 
ployment depend  more  upon  being  a  friend  of  the  business 
agent  than  upon  ability  or  the  length  of  the  period  of  unem- 
ployment. On  the  other  hand,  if  the  comparative  periods 
of  unemployment  were  the  sole  guide,  much  of  the  value 
of  the  business  agent's  service  would  be  lost. 

The  third  method  of  choice — the  drawing  of  lots — is 
found  in  very  few  unions.  Where  practised  a  number  of 
slips,  on  one  of  which  is  written  the  word  "  job,"  are  placed 
in  a  hat,  and  the  members  draw  the  slips  to  determine  which 
one  is  to  apply  for  the  job.     This  custom  exists  in  a  few  of 

20  Letter  from  the  editor  of  the  Coast  Seamen's  Journal  to  the 
writer,  October  25,  1915. 


LOCAL   UNION    EMPLOYMENT   BUREAUS  69 

the  local  unions  of  the  Cigar  Makers  and  in  some  building- 
trades  unions. 

In  certain  building-trades  unions  no  choice  is  made,  but 
the  information  concerning  employment  is  placed  upon  a 
bulletin  board  in  the  union  headquarters.  It  is  considered 
that  by  this  means  each  unemployed  member  is  given  an 
equal  chance  to  obtain  employment.  Under  this  method,  it 
frequently  results  that  many  times  the  number  of  workmen 
desired  apply  for  work. 

If  the  trade-union  member  is  unable  through  his  union  to 
find  employment,  there  remains  the  possibility  of  securing 
work  through  application  to  state,  commercial  employers' 
and  philanthropic  employment  bureaus,  and  through  an- 
swering advertisements  in  the  newspapers. 

Since  1890,  when  the  State  of  Ohio  established  the  first 
state  employment  bureau,  twenty-two  other  States  have 
created  such  agencies,  and  more  than  twenty-five  cities  have 
formulated  plans  for  aiding  those  out  of  work  in  securing 
employment.  Of  the  twenty-three  state  bureaus  more  than 
one-half  have  been  established  since  the  financial  depression 
of  1907.  Although  one  of  the  reasons  for  their  establish- 
ment was  the  desire  to  curb  the  evils  of  the  private  employ- 
ment bureaus,  a  historical  study  shows  that  they  have  been 
created  mainly  in  periods  of  industrial  depression.  These 
bureaus  appear  to  a  part  of  the  public  as  one  of  the  princi- 
pal means  of  increasing  employment  in  such  depressions. 
States  and  municipalities  are  urged  to  establish  employment 
bureaus  and  great  efforts  are  put  forth  to  insure  their  suc- 
cess. Soon  after  their  establishment,  and  when  business 
conditions  improve,  interest  in  the  bureaus  dies  out  and  they 
either  become  merely  registration  offices  for  the  down-and- 
outs  and  the  unemployable,  or  are  abandoned. 

The  actual  results  of  the  public  employment  bureaus  have 
been  well  described  by  a  recent  investigator  as  follows :  "  In 
practice,  far  from  supplanting  private  agencies,  the  free 
offices  have  not  even  maintained  an  effective  competition 
against  them.     With  few  exceptions  their  operations  have 


70         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

been  on  a  small  scale,  their  methods  unbusinesslike,  and 
their  statistics  valueless,  if  not  unreliable.  Four  States  and 
about  half  a  dozen  cities  have  discontinued  their  offices  and 
most  of  those  now  in  operation  are  constantly  on  the  de- 
fensive to  maintain  their  existence."^^  Under  such  condi- 
tions it  is  not  surprising  that  the  trade  unions  have  not 
given  their  support  to  the  public  bureaus. 

President  Gompers  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor 
traces  the  "persistent  and  widespread  promotion  in  this 
country  of  the  scheme  for  state  and  philanthropic  employ- 
ment bureaus  to  the  transatlantic  steamship  combination 
and  the  great  trusts."  He  says  further  that  the  necessity 
for  the  public  employment  bureaus  arises  mainly  when  the 
stream  of  immigration  is  directed  to  one  locality  or  another 
to  the  benefit  of  the  employers,  and  that  the  employers' 
profit  comes  through  replacing  union  workmen  by  non- 
unionists  and  through  substituting  foreign  cheap  labor  for 
unorganized  labor.^^  President  Gompers  appears  to  think 
that  trade-union  employment  bureaus,  advertising,  and 
regulated  private  agencies  are  capable  of  supplying  suffi- 
ciently the  needs  of  the  employers,  and  finds  no  reason  for 
the  establishment  of  public  employment  bureaus.-'  The 
convention  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  in  1914 
refused  to  endorse  a  resolution  urging  the  creation  of  em- 
ployment bureaus  by  States  and  cities.^*  President  Furu- 
seth  of  the  Coast  Seamen  stated  during  the  consideration 
of  the  resolution  that  the  existing  bureaus  have  been  a 
"never  ending  curse"  and  have  always  been  placed  in 
charge  of  those  "  who  have  no  sympathy  with  the  struggling 
toilers."" 

The  attitude  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  to- 
wards public  employment  offices  is  not  unlike  that  of  the 
English  and  German  trade  unions  when  public  labor  ex- 

21 W.   M.   Leiserson,   "  Public   Employment   Offices,"    in    Political 
Science  Quarterly,  Vol.  29,  1914.  p.  29. 
22  American  Federationist,  July,  191 1,  p.  514  et  seq. 
2»  Ibid.,  July,  1911,  p.  528. 
'*  Ibid.,  June,  1915,  p.  31. 
25  Proceedings,  1914,  p.  357. 


LOCAL   UNION    EMPLOYMENT   BUREAUS  7 1 

changes  were  first  established  in  those  countries.  Grad- 
ually the  unions  in  those  countries  have  come  to  realize  that 
such  bureaus  are  not  inimical  to  their  interest.  Recently 
the  unions  have  been  granted  some  share  in  the  manage- 
ment and  have  accordingly  appeared  less  hostile,  though 
they  can  hardly  be  considered  even  yet  as  sympathetic. 

A  few  of  the  American  trade  unions  have  not  objected  to 
the  establishment  of  public  employment  bureaus.  The 
Printers  at  their  convention  in  191 5  went  on  record  as  fa- 
voring them,-''  and  the  Maryland  Federation  of  Labor  has 
recently  endorsed  the  movement.^'^  Indeed,  the  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Illinois  Free  Employment  Agency-^  said  in 
1901  that  organized  labor  was  largely  responsible  for  the 
creation  of  that  bureau,  and  Superintendent  Dunderdale  of 
the  Boston  Free  Employment  Office,  states  that  "  it  was 
only  through  the  influence  of  the  trade  unions  that  the  law 
establishing  the  Free  Employment  Offices  in  this  state  was 
granted."'^  In  some  cases  the  unions  have  cooperated  with 
the  bureaus.  Mr.  Sears,  superintendent  of  the  Boston  Em- 
ployment Agency,  said  that  the  unions  furnished  the  bureau 
with  information  regarding  labor  difficulties  and  that  there 
had  never  been  any  trouble  over  the  bureau's  supplying  the 
employers  with  strike  breakers.^" 

While  it  appears  that  the  public  bureaus  in  general  have 
been  of  little  value  to  skilled  workmen,  there  are  several 
which  have  done  very  efficient  work  during  the  past  few 
years.  Indeed,  it  appears  that  the  trade  unionists,  while 
criticising  the  utility  of  the  bureaus,  have  made  some  use  of 
them.  Thus,  the  report  of  the  New  York  City  Public  Em- 
ployment Bureau  for  the  first  twenty-nine  days  of  its  opera- 
tion shows  that  of  the  10,489  persons  who  applied  for  em- 
ployment, 364,  of  nearly  three  and  one-half  per  cent,  were 
members  of  trade  unions,*^  while  the  Boston  office  of  the 


2"  Proceedings,  1915,  p.  65. 

27  Proceedings,  1915,  pp.  63,  67. 

28  The  Bridgemen's  Magazine,  December,  1901,  p.  182. 

29  Letter  to  the  writer,  February  23,  1916. 

80  American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  June,  1915,  p.  284. 
»i  Ibid.,  p.  281. 


72 


UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 


Massachusetts  Employment  Bureau  reported  that  of  the 
10,707  persons  for  whom  it  secured  positions  in  the  first 
year  of  its  operation,  441,  or  more  than  four  per  cent,  were 
known  to  be  members  of  trade  unions.^^  Of  course,  the 
trade  unionists  use  the  pubHc  bureaus  less,  because  the 
chances  of  a  skilled  worker  obtaining  employment  in  this 
way  are  very  much  less  than  those  of  an  imskilled  workman. 

It  has  been  estimated  that  there  are  between  4,000  and 
5,000  commercial  employment  bureaus  in  the  United 
States.33  The  majority  of  these  have  as  clients  mainly  do- 
mestic servants  and  waiters,  and  to  a  less  extent  girls  and 
women  in  the  unorganized  trades.  Only  a  few  of  them 
profess  to  secure  employment  for  skilled  workmen,  while 
trades  which  are  highly  organized  are  rarely  supplied  by 
these  agencies  except  in  times  of  strikes.  The  trade  unions 
regard  private  employment  agencies  largely  as  strike  break- 
ing bureaus  and  the  activities  of  these  offices  furnish  consid- 
erable proof  of  the  soundness  of  the  unions'  contention. 
Moreover,  several  of  the  unions  have  experienced  consid- 
erable trouble  with  commercial  bureaus  even  at  times  when 
no  strikes  were  being  carried  on.  Thus,  the  Hotel  and  Res- 
taurant Employees  complain  bitterly  that  its  members  who 
apply  to  such  agencies  in  periods  of  industrial  depression 
are  not  infrequently  made  to  pay  exorbitant  fees  for  the 
promise  of  situations  which  do  not  exist.^* 

The  majority  of  trade  unionists,  especially  those  in  the 
building  trades,  cannot  hope  to  secure  employment  through 
the  commercial  bureaus  because  the  few  jobs  which  such 
bureaus  have  to  fill  are  mainly  non-union ;  and  the  general 
trade-union  antipathy  towards  these  agencies  is  such  that 
they  would  be  used  only  as  a  lost  resort.  An  exception 
seems  to  be  the  attitude  of  the  Steam  Shovel  and  Dredge 
Men.  In  its  monthly  journal  there  generally  appear  the 
advertisements  of  some  twenty  railroad  labor  supply  agen- 

32  Quarterly  Publications,  American  Statistical  Association,  June, 
1909,  p.  522. 

33  Final  Report  of  the  Commission  on  Industrial  Relations,  1915, 
pp.  171,  172. 

34  Mixer  and  Server.  September,  1915,  p.  68. 


LOCAL    UNION    EMPLOYMENT   BUREAUS  73 

cies  in  the  West  and  Northwest.  The  secretary,  however, 
explains  that  these  agencies  do  not  charge  the  members  of 
the  union  fees,  but  merely  act  as  the  union's  representatives 
and  obtain  their  fees  from  the  employers.^^ 

Within  recent  years  the  employers'  associations  in  all  the 
large  industrial  centers  have  established  employment  bu- 
reaus. These  are  supported  by  the  employers  and  work- 
men are  not  charged  fees.  Although  the  directors  of  these 
bureaus  claim  that  they  have  been  established  in  order  to 
supply  the  employers  with  workmen  at  all  times,  the  major- 
ity of  them  owe  their  origin  to  the  desire  of  the  employers 
to  establish  and  maintain  the  so-called  "  open  shop."  These 
bureaus  are  in  most  cases  not  active  except  in  times  of  in- 
dustrial strife  and  the  motive  for  their  maintenance  is 
mainly  to  secure  a  weapon  against  the  unions.  Conse- 
quently, except  in  a  small  number  of  cases,  the  trade  union- 
ist cannot  hope  to  secure  any  help  from  them. 

In  every  city  there  are  religious  and  charitable  organiza- 
tions which  attempt  to  find  work  for  the  unemployed.  The 
tendency  during  each  period  of  industrial  depression  has 
been  to  multiply  these  agencies.  Inasmuch  as  the  main 
work  of  these  philanthropic  bureaus  is  to  secure  work  for 
the  unemployed  who  are  not  capable  of  holding  ordinary 
positions  the  trade  unionist  is  not  likely  to  receive  help 
from  this  source.  Frequently  the  unions  have  protested 
against  the  wages  at  which  such  agencies  have  placed  their 
applicants.  In  one  case  during  the  depression  of  1914  a 
philanthropic  bureau  in  a  Mid-western  city  was  accused  by 
the  trade  unions  of  undermining  the  whole  scale  of  wages 
in  the  city  by  sending  men  to  work  at  cut  rates. ^" 

There  remains  for  the  workmen  the  want  advertisements 
of  the  newspapers.  To  unskilled  workmen,  professional 
workers,  and  domestic  servants  these  are  of  some  value,  but 
the  skilled  mechanic  and  trade  unionist  can  rarely  use  them 
to  any  advantage.  A  study  of  newspaper  advertisements 
as  a  medium  for  securing  employment  shows  that  the  trade 


35  Interview  with  Secretary  Dolan,  August,  1915. 

38  American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  November,  1915,  p.  54S- 


74 


UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 


unionist  is  seldom  offered  work  at  union  wages  and  hours. 
Advertisements  for  carpenters,  painters  and  other  building- 
trades  mechanics  are  frequently  inserted,  but  the  men  are 
generally  to  be  employed  on  non-union  jobs.  A  study  of 
the  "help-wanted"  columns  of  the  Baltimore  newspapers 
for  several  years  resulted  in  finding  less  than  a  half-dozen 
opportunities  for  members  of  any  trade  union  to  secure 
work  under  union  conditions. 

In  what  has  been  said  above  the  attempt  has  been  made 
to  show  the  superiority  of  the  trade-union  over  other  exist- 
ing employment  bureaus  as  a  means  of  connecting  the  unem- 
ployed with  employers  in  need  of  men.  Not  all  of  the 
unions  have  developed  their  resources  to  the  full  in  this 
connection  and  accordingly  the  members  of  many  unions 
are  forced  to  rely  upon  other  means  of  securing  employ- 
ment. 


CHAPTER  IV 
Union  Agencies  for  the  Distribution  of  Workmen 

In  the  same  way  that  a  workman  is  forced  to  move  in  a 
community  from  one  employer  to  another,  he  m.ay  be  forced 
to  move  from  one  local  labor  market  to  another  because  of 
the  variation  in  the  demands  for  workmen  in  the  two  local 
labor  markets.  Although  a  number  of  trades  are  affected 
in  approximately  equal  degree  throughout  the  country  in 
periods  of  general  business  depression,  there  are  other  trades 
which  are  differently  affected  in  different  communities. 
Even  in  periods  of  industrial  prosperity,  the  variations  in 
demand  among  local  labor  markets  are  great  enough  to 
necessitate  the  transfer  of  many  workmen.  Given  the  fact 
that  there  is  a  scarcity  of  workmen  in  one  labor  market  and 
a  body  of  unemployed  in  another,  there  remains  the  prob- 
lem of  making  known  to  the  unemployed  that  there  are  op- 
portunities for  securing  work  elsewhere. 

Some  unions  have  considered  it  their  duty  not  only  to 
secure  the  employment  which  is  offered  in  a  community  for 
the  members  who  reside  in  that  labor  market,  but  when  the 
demand  for  labor  in  a  community  is  such  as  to  require  the 
services  of  additional  workmen,  to  procure  them  from  other 
places  where  some  of  their  members  are  unemployed.  In- 
asmuch as  the  methods  of  those  unions  which  have  at- 
tempted systematically  to  increase  the  mobility  of  labor 
cannot  be  successfully  classified,  it  is  necessary  to  describe 
separately  the  activities  of  the  several  unions. 

Owing  probably  to  the  great  local  differences  in  the  de- 
mand for  workmen  in  the  granite  industry,  the  Granite 
Cutters'  Union  has  probably  the  most  effective  method  of 
adjusting  inter-local  supply  to  be  found  among  American 
trade  unions.     During  the  past  fifteen  years  the  following 

75 


76         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE    UNIONS 

system  has  been  maintained :  When  a  local  union  is  unable 
to  supply  from  its  members  the  number  of  workmen  desired 
by  the  employers,  the  national  union  is  notified.  The  gen- 
eral secretary  immediately  sends  this  information  to  the 
local  unions  nearest  the  locality.  If  it  is  found  that  the 
man  cannot  be  obtained  from  nearby  local  unions,  the  infor- 
mation is  printed  in  a  "flier,"  with  generally  eight  or  ten 
other  such  announcements,  and  sent  to  every  local  union  in 
the  country.  The  information  concerning  each  opportunity 
for  employment  is  complete.  The  "flier"  gives  the  em- 
ployer, the  kind  of  workmen  required,  that  is,  granite  cut- 
ter, polisher  or  tool  sharpener,  the  class  of  work  to  be  per- 
formed, the  number  of  men  required,  the  working  conditions 
and  the  length  of  time  the  men  will  be  given  employment. 
These  "  fliers  "  are  generally  issued  weekly,  but  the  period 
depends  upon  the  variations  in  the  demand  among  the  dif- 
ferent localities. 

Unless  the  distances  between  the  local  unions  in  which 
men  are  unemployed  and  those  in  which  men  are  needed 
are  very  great,  there  are  few  cases  in  which  the  employers 
are  not  supplied  in  a  short  time.  The  general  secretary, 
besides  notifying  the  trade  of  the  opportunities  for  employ- 
ment, also  occupies  himself  in  furthering  the  transference 
of  the  men  required.  Members  are  advised  to  telegraph 
or  write  to  the  employers  before  moving,  and  as  this  advice 
is  generally  followed,  only  the  required  number  of  men 
transfer.  The  employers  have  expressed  their  satisfaction 
with  the  system,  and  the  union  has  succeeded  in  materially 
shortening  the  period  of  unemployment  due  to  the  need  of 
transference  from  one  locality  to  another,  and  has  done 
away  with  a  great  deal  of  needless  and  haphazard  traveling 
from  one  city  to  another. 

The  system  of  inter-local  supply  among  the  Glass  Bottle 
Blowers  had  its  origin  in  the  introduction  of  the  bottle 
machine.  To  operate  the  machine  the  services  of  expert 
pressers  were  required.  The  union  did  not  have  control 
over  the  class  of  workmen  who  were  able  to  perform  this 


UNION  AGENCIES  FOR  DISTRIBUTION  OF  WORKMEN         77 

kind  of  work  and  therefore  established  an  employment 
bureau  in  order  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  the  employers. 
In  1903  a  member  who  was  an  expert  presser  was  appointed 
as  chief  of  this  bureau.  The  bureau  seems  to  have  given 
satisfaction,  for  President  Hayes  reported  to  the  convention 
in  1905  that  the  employers  had  been  furnished  with  iii 
machine  workers,  which  amply  filled  every  demand  for  men 
of  this  class.^ 

Having  been  so  successful  with  the  employment  bureau 
for  machine  workers,  the  union  decided  to  render  similar 
services  to  other  members.  Accordingly,  all  unemployed 
members  were  requested  to  send  their  names,  addresses  and 
occupation  to  the  national  secretary.  The  local  union  secre- 
taries and  manufacturers  who  were  in  need  of  men  were 
asked  to  notify  the  union.  This  extension  of  the  bureau's 
services  has  been  a  distinct  success,  despite  the  fact  that  at 
times  it  has  been  impossible  to  induce  the  unemployed  to 
transfer  to  places  where  work  could  be  secured.  The  gen- 
eral secretary,  upon  receiving  a  request  for  men,  sends  tele- 
grams or  letters  to  those  upon  his  unemployed  list,  and  if 
this  fails  to  procure  the  required  number  of  men,  the  trade 
is  notified  by  means  of  circulars.  Also,  each  local-union 
secretary  reports  quarterly  to  the  union  the  number  of  fur- 
naces at  work  and  idle,  the  number  of  members  employed 
and  unemployed,  the  number  doing  *'  spare  "  work,  the  num- 
ber of  men  required  and  the  number  of  men  available  for 
transfer.  This  information  is  classified  and  sent  to  the 
trade.  Thus,  there  is  available  at  all  times,  definite  infor- 
mation as  to  the  condition  of  trade  in  the  various  localities 
for  the  benefit  of  those  members  who  are  unemployed  and 
are  willing  to  remove  to  another  locality.  There  appears  to 
be  little,  if  any,  difficulty  in  inducing  the  local  unions  to 
notify  the  union  of  a  scarcity  of  workmen,  and  the  traveling 
members  are  generally  given  the  same  consideration  as  the 
local  members  when  there  is  work  to  be  had. 

Another  national  union  which  has  established  an  employ- 

1  Proceedings,  1905,  p.  23. 


78         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

ment  bureau  is  the  Flint  Glass  Workers.  The  demand  for 
men  in  various  localities  varies  so  greatly  in  this  trade  that 
sometimes  it  has  been  very  difficult  to  supply  the  employers 
with  the  required  number.  In  the  agreements  between  the 
union  and  the  manufacturers  the  latter  have  demanded  the 
incorporation  of  the  following :  "  The  union  agrees  to  ad- 
vertise for  men  free  of  cost,  and  to  do  its  best  to  place  men 
in  the  factory  when  needed."-  The  mode  of  procedure  is 
for  the  local-union  secretaries  to  furnish  the  general  secre- 
tary with  definite  information  as  to  the  number  of  men  re- 
quired and  the  number  of  members  unemployed.  Those 
who  are  unemployed  and  willing  to  transfer  to  another 
locality  file  their  applications  with  the  union.  The  em- 
ployers notify  the  chairman  of  the  shop  committees  when 
they  are  in  need  of  men  and  they  in  turn  inform  the  gen- 
eral secretary,  if  the  local  union  is  unable  to  furnish  the 
desired  number.  The  general  secretary  immediately  notifies 
those  on  the  unemployed  list  who  live  nearest  the  locality 
in  which  the  shortage  of  men  exists.  If  this  fails  to  supply 
the  number  of  men  required,  the  entire  membership  is 
notified  through  the  official  journal  and  circulars. 

During  the  past  few  years  the  union  has  experienced  con- 
siderable difficulty  in  supplying  employers  with  all  the  men 
needed  in  certain  branches  of  the  trade.  Especially  was  this 
the  case  with  mould  makers.  The  union  through  its  trade 
letters,  journals,  and  circulars,  and  through  correspondence 
with  the  local  unions  in  1910,  and  again  in  1912,  attempted 
to  reach  the  unemployed  and  induce  them  to  transfer  to 
localities  in  which  there  were  shortages  of  mould  makers. 
The  places  remained  unfilled  despite  the  activities  of  the 
union.  It  was  clearly  a  case  of  unprecedented  prosperity 
in  this  department  of  the  industry,  and  the  union's  methods 
were  not  at  fault.  In  the  other  branches  of  the  trade,  the 
union  has  generally  been  able  to  effect  the  needed  transfers. 
The  custom  of  writing  to  firms  in  dififerent  localities  for 
work  became  so  general  and  produced  such  unfavorable  re- 

2  Circular,  Number  i,  August  7,  1914,  p.  2. 


UNION  AGENCIES  FOR  DISTRIBUTION  OF  WORKMEN         79 

suits  that  the  Lithographers  in  1906  ruled  that  this  method 
of  applying  for  employment  should  be  discontinued.'  As  a 
substitute  there  was  established  an  employment  bureau  under 
the  direction  of  the  general  secretary.  The  unemployed 
were  to  send  their  names  and  qualifications  to  the  bureau, 
and  the  local-union  secretaries  were  required  to  notify  the 
general  secretary  of  any  vacancies.  Those  first  on  the  un- 
employed list  and  living  nearest  were  to  be  notified  by  tele- 
graph to  apply  for  the  positions  or  to  notify  the  bureau  that 
they  did  not  care  to  accept  them.  Although  there  appears 
to  be  only  a  small  number  of  transfers  among  the  lithog- 
raphers, the  employment  bureau  performs  its  duties  in  this 
connection  very  adequately. 

The  Photo-Engravers'  Union  for  many  years  was  con- 
fronted with  the  problem  which  exists  in  so  many  trades, 
viz.,  the  acceptance  by  members  of  positions  in  other  cities 
without  consulting  the  business  agent  of  the  union  in  the 
locality.  There  might  be  a  sufficient  number  of  men  who 
were  capable  of  filling  the  positions  in  the  city,  but  the  em- 
ployer, for  reasons  of  his  own,  preferred  to  obtain  work- 
men from  another  city.  There  was  thus  an  unnecessary  and 
costly  movement.  The  convention  in  1906  established  an 
employment  bureau  at  national  headquarters  and  adopted 
certain  rules.  It  was  made  compulsory  for  members  to 
write  to  local-union  secretaries  before  accepting  positions  in 
another  city.  The  unemployed  were  to  register  at  head- 
quarters. Local  unions  were  required  to  notify  the  bureau 
of  any  vacancies  and  the  employers  were  requested  to  file 
applications  for  workmen.*  During  the  first  six  months  of 
the  operation  of  the  bureau  108  applications  for  employment 
and  109  applications  for  workmen  were  received.  The  sec- 
retary reported  that  the  greater  number  of  these  positions 
had  been  filled,  although  it  was  impossible  to  give  the  exact 
numl^er  as  the  members  did  not  always  notify  the  bureau 
when  the  positions  were  accepted.  It  was  then  provided 
that  when  an  applicant  was  notified  of  a  vacancy,  a  blank 

^  Proceedings,  1906,  p.  193. 
*  Proceedings,  1906,  p.  61. 


8o         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE    UNIONS 

was  to  be  sent  him  to  be  used  for  notifying  the  bureau 
whether  or  not  he  had  accepted  the  position.^ 

From  time  to  time  improvements  were  made  in  the 
methods  of  the  bureau  and  its  usefulness  was  increased.  In 
1912  President  Woll  reported  that  the  bureau  "continued 
to  be  of  great  benefit  to  the  members  seeking  employment," 
and  likewise  that  "  employers  have  been  aided,  and  general 
satisfaction  has  been  expressed  by  all  those  who  have  had 
occasion  for  its  use.""  During  the  past  few  years  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  bureau  has  been  increasingly  higher.  Writing 
to  employers  for  positions,  advertising  or  answering  adver- 
tisements for  employment,  and  applying  to  other  agencies 
than  the  union's  bureau  have  been  discouraged.  The  em- 
ployers have  thus  practically  been  forced  to  make  use  of 
the  bureau ;  and  they  have  expressed  complete  satisfaction 
with  the  manner  in  which  they  have  been  brought  into  con- 
nection with  possible  employees.  The  chief  reason  for  the 
present  efficiency  of  the  Photo-Engravers'  employment 
bureau  has  been  this  realization  by  the  officers  of  the  benefits 
that  the  union  may  derive  from  it.  As  President  Woll  said 
in  191 5,  "  We  should  ever  be  ready  to  do  all  in  our  power  to 
furnish  union  help  whenever  required,  not  simply  because 
the  employer  wants  it,  but  because  it  is  a  good  business 
proposition."^ 

The  Potters  also  keep  a  list  of  unemployed  members  at 
headquarters.  The  general  secretary  requires  those  who 
apply  for  employment  to  state  their  experience,  the  par- 
ticular kind  of  work  they  have  performed,  and  other  perti- 
nent facts.  When  an  employer  inquires  for  a  workman, 
the  secretary  is  able  to  give  him  a  list  of  those  who  are  able 
to  do  the  work.  The  general  secretary  states  that  the  em- 
ployers do  not  hesitate  to  apply  to  the  bureau  for  men,  and 
that  the  system  has  been  very  satisfactory  to  the  members 
and  the  employers  alike.^ 

5  Proceedings,  1907,  p.  46. 

^  Proceedings,  1912,  p.  24. 

■^Proceedings,  191 5.  pp.  23,  24. 

8  Letter  of  Secretary  John  T.Wood  to  the  writer,  October  25,  1915. 


UNION  AGENCIES  FOR  DISTRIBUTION  OF  WORKMEN         8 1 

Through  weekly  reports  made  by  the  local  unions  of  the 
Pattern  Makers,  the  president  is  enabled  to  secure  definite 
information  of  the  state  of  the  trade  in  each  locality.  The 
local  secretaries  report  weekly  the  number  of  members  em- 
ployed and  unemployed  and  the  number  of  wood,  metal, 
and  plaster  pattern  makers  wanted  by  the  employers.  These 
reports  are  classified  and  sent  to  each  local  union,  thus 
enabling  them  each  week  to  direct  the  unemployed  to  locali- 
ties in  which  they  can  secure  work.  The  president  also  at- 
tempts to  supply  directly  the  needs  of  employers  from  the 
list  of  unemployed  members  which  is  kept  at  headquarters, 
and  telegraphs  to  those  of  the  unemployed  residing  nearest 
the  place  where  men  are  needed.  These  efiforts  coupled 
with  the  activities  of  the  local  unions  adequately  cover  the 
field  and  in  the  majority  of  cases  the  employers  are  quickly 
and  efficiently  furnished  with  the  necessary  men.*'  The 
Stone  Cutters  for  many  years  had  a  system  like  that  of  the 
Pattern  Makers.  The  local  unions  reported  to  the  general 
secretary  the  state  of  trade  and  prospects  and  the  number  of 
members  employed  and  unemployed.  These  were  classified 
and  sent  to  the  various  local  unions.  Since  September, 
1914,  these  weekly  trade  reports  have  not  been  published, 
because  the  employment  in  all  localities  has  been  very  poor 
and  there  has  been  no  need  for  transfers.^" 

Three  of  the  railroad  brotherhoods  have  attempted  to 
facilitate  the  movement  of  their  members  by  the  establish- 
ment of  employment  bureaus.  At  the  first  convention  of 
the  Locomotive  Firemen  in  1888  an  employment  bureau  was 
established  at  headquarters.  It  was  provided  that  the 
national  president  should  keep  a  register  of  the  applicants 
and  endeavor  to  secure  employment  for  them.  The  onici.rs 
and  members  of  the  subordinate  unions  were  urged  to  inform 
the  bureau  of  all  vacancies  and  the  railroad  companies  were 
requested  to  apply  to  the  bureau  for  men."     It  is  understood 

»  Interview  with  President  James  Wilson,  August,  1915. 

10  Interview  with  Secretary  Drayer,  August,  1915. 

11  Locomotive  Firemen's  Magazine,  November,  1888,  p.  809. 
6 


82         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE    UNIONS 

that  the  bureau  was  established  in  order  to  secure  employ- 
ment for  the  one  thousand  members  who  were  thrown  out 
of  work  through  losing  the  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy 
strike  in  1888.  Since  that  time  it  has  performed  but  little 
service  in  securing  employment  for  the  members  of  the 
union.  President  Carter  says  that  it  has  been  unsuccessful 
for  the  reason  that  a  railroad  generally  refuses  to  employ 
engineers  and  firemen  who  have  secured  their  experience 
on  other  roads.^^ 

The  Railway  Conductors'^  established  its  employment 
bureau  in  the  same  year  as  did  the  Firemen,  but  it  was 
abolished  after  a  few  years  on  account  of  its  failure  to  be  of 
service  to  the  unemployed.  However,  it  was  reestablished 
at  the  Detroit  Convention  in  1913.^*  Acting  President 
Sheppard  said  in  191 5  that  while  there  had  been  quite  a 
number  of  applicants,  the  bureau  had  "  been  able  to  lend 
practically  no  assistance  to  the  members  searching  for  em- 
ployment," although  immediately  following  its  establishment 
in  1913  employment  was  found  "  for  several  members."'^ 
The  Railroad  Trainmen  in  1915  appointed  one  of  its  mem- 
bers as  chief  of  its  employment  bureau  in  Chicago  "  for  the 
purpose  of  advising  its  members  who  are  now  in  search  of 
employment."'® 

Prior  to  1912  a  member  of  the  Bookbinders  who  wished 
to  travel  in  search  of  employment  was  compelled  to  write 
to  the  secretaries  of  the  local  unions  he  wished  to  visit 
before  he  was  allowed  to  apply  directly  to  the  employers  for 
work.  Because  of  the  failure  of  the  secretaries  to  reply 
and  the  spirit  of  selfishness  displayed  in  many  localities, 
this  rule  was  abolished  and  an  employment  bureau  was 
established.  It  was  provided  that  the  unemployed  were  to 
register  with  the  bureau,  and  local  union  secretaries  were 
required  to  notify  the  general  secretary  of  all  vacancies. 
Members  who  left  positions  were  to  report  this  fact  to  the 

12  Letter  to  the  writer,  October  19,  1915. 

13  Proceedings,  1888.  p.  2.yj. 
1*  Proceedings,  1913,  p.  748. 

15  Letter  to  the  writer,  October  16,  1915. 
1*^  Railroad  Trainmen,  March,  1915,  p.  40. 


UNION  AGENCIES  FOR  DISTRIBUTION  OF  WORKMEN         83 

bureau  and  the  employers  were  requested  to  apply  for  men 
when  they  were  needed."  During  the  first  month  of  the 
bureau's  existence,  July,  191 1,  a  number  of  members  were 
furnished  with  employment,^^  but  the  local  unions  did  not 
notify  the  general  secretary  of  the  vacancies  in  their  juris- 
dictions and  the  bureau  was  abolished. ^^ 

For  several  years  prior  to  191 2  President  Lynch  of  the 
Typographical  Union  advocated  the  establishment  of  an 
employment  bureau  under  the  supervision  of  the  general 
secretary.  The  convention  in  1912  instructed  the  executive 
officers  to  formulate  plans  for  such  a  bureau,^"  and  the 
following  rules  were  adopted:  (i)  only  members  of  the 
union  were  to  be  registered;  (2)  each  applicant  was  to  pay 
an  initiation  fee  of  $1.00;  (3)  requests  for  men  from  cities 
in  which  there  were  local  unions  were  to  be  endorsed  by  the 
local-union  secretaries.^^  The  bureau  was  opened  January 
I,  1913,  and  several  hundred  dollars  were  expended  in  send- 
ing to  the  trade  advertising  pamphlets.  During  the  first 
six  months  of  its  operation,  62  members  registered ;  during 
the  next  year  there  were  79  applicants  for  employment, 
while  for  the  year  1914-1915  only  29  members  registered, 
and  of  these  it  is  thought  that  but  few  received  employment 
which  could  be  traced  to  the  activities  of  the  bureau.  In 
short,  as  Secretary  Hays  said  in  1915,  the  "employment 
bureau  has  not  proven  very  satisfactory."-^ 

In  1901  the  Leather  Workers  on  Horse  Goods  established 
an  employment  bureau  at  headquarters  with  three  branches. 
The  country  was  divided  into  three  sections,  in  each  of 
which  a  member  was  appointed  as  employment  agent.  Each 
was  to  receive  applications  from  the  unemployed  and  at- 
tempt to  transfer  them  to  localities  in  which  they  could 
secure  employment.     When  one  of  the  agents  was  unable 

17  International  Bookbinder,  June,  191 1,  p.  238;  Ibid.,  August,  191 1, 
P-  303. 
^^Ibid.,  August  1911,  p.  282. 

19  Letter  from  Secretary  W.  N.  Reddick  to  the  writer,  November 

9,  1915. 

20  Proceedings,  1912,  p.  302. 

21  Typographical  Journal,  August,  1913,  p.  86. 

22  Letter  to  the  writer,  October  19,  1915. 


84  UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE    UNIONS 

to  supply  the  demands  in  his  territory,  he  was  to  notify  the 
general  secretary  or  one  of  the  other  agents.^^  President 
Balsinger  in  1902  said,  "The  bureau  has  given  universal 
satisfaction,"-*  but  the  three  sub-bureaus  were  abolished  in 
1903.^^  Since  that  time  the  bureau  at  headquarters  has 
been  maintained  and  has  kept  a  list  of  the  unemployed  from 
which  the  requests  of  employers  have  been  supplied.  Sec- 
retary Pfeififer  in  1915  said,  "We  have  met  with  little  or  no 
success  for  the  reason  that  it  has  been  impossible  to  get  the 
employers  to  cooperate  with  the  bureau."-" 

So  far  we  have  mentioned  only  the  more  important  unions 
which  have  established  employment  bureaus.  Although 
those  which  we  have  discussed  are  the  only  national  unions 
which  really  perform  any  considerable  service  in  placing  the 
unemployed,  there  are  a  number  of  others  that  from  time  to 
time,  under  pressure  from  the  employers,  attempt  to  trans- 
fer the  unemployed.  In  this  category  may  be  placed  the 
following  vmions :  Bakers,  Blacksmiths,  Bridge  and  Struc- 
tural Iron  Workers,  Elevator  Constructors,  Stove  Mounters, 
and  Typographia.  In  none  of  these  is  there  any  perma- 
nent system  of  finding  employment,  the  unions  merely  at- 
tempting to  transfer  members  when  some  employer  or  local 
union  writes  for  workmen. 

Several  unions  have  emphatically  rejected  the  proposal 
to  establish  employment  bureaus  to  which  the  local  unions 
would  have  been  required  to  report  regularly  the  exact  con- 
dition of  trade.  Thus,  in  1895,  the  Iron,  Steel  and  Tin 
Workers  refused  to  accede  to  the  suggestion  of  President 
Garland  that  an  employment  bureau  should  be  established, 
to  which  the  local  unions  should  report  every  two  weeks 
as  to  the  condition  of  trade. ^^  The  general  antipathy  ex- 
hibited by  the  average  member  of  a  union  towards  any  pub- 
licity of  employment  conditions  is  probably  best  illustrated 
by  the  history  of  the  Bricklayers  and  Masons.     In  1873  a 

23  Leather  Workers'  Journal,  November,  1901,  p.  60. 
-*  Ibid.,  July.  1902,  p.  306. 

25  Ibid.,  March,  1903,  p.  32. 

26  Letter  to  the  writer,  October  19,  1915. 

27  Proceedings,  1895,  p.  4940. 


UNION  AGENCIES  FOR  DISTRIBUTION  OF  WORKMEN         85 

national  employment  bureau  was  established.  Each  local 
union  secretary  was  required  to  inform  the  general  secre- 
tary monthly  as  to  the  number  of  employed  and  unemployed, 
and  whether  or  not  any  additional  men  were  needed.'^  The 
bureau  lasted  but  a  few  months,  the  local  unions  refusing 
to  notify  the  secretary  of  the  actual  conditions  of  trade.  In 
1881  the  union  attempted  to  reestablish  the  employment 
bureau  and  at  this  time  required  only  quarterly  reports 
from  the  local  unions.^'^  In  the  following  year  many  of  the 
local  unions  refusing  to  report,  the  rules  were  changed  so 
as  to  require  only  semi-annual  reports.^"  During  1905  Sec- 
retary Dobson  was  requested  by  employers  in  many  cities 
to  supply  them  with  additional  men.  He  thereupon  wrote 
to  all  local  unions  asking  them  to  report  the  actual  condi- 
tion of  trade,  giving  the  number  of  additional  men  required 
or  the  number  of  members  unemployed.  Only  a  few  re- 
sponses were  made  and  the  majority  of  these  were  from 
cities  in  which  employment  was  very  poor.  In  commenting 
upon  the  refusal  of  the  local  unions  to  give  publicity  to  trade 
conditions,  he  said :  "  Judging  from  the  replies  we  received 
we  understood  that  no  matter  how  many  men  were  needed 
to  supply  the  demands  of  the  employers  our  local  unions  did 
not  take  kindly  to  our  idea  or  desire  the  fact  to  be  known 
that  their  particular  communities  were  in  need  of  men."^^ 
There  was  an  attempt  made  at  the  convention  in  1910  again 
to  establish  an  employment  bureau  at  headquarters,  but  only 
one  third  of  the  delegates  voted  in  favor  of  the  proposal.^- 
During  1912  Secretary  Dobson  once  more  tried  to  obtain 
from  the  local  unions  accurate  information  concerning  the 
state  of  trade,  but  he  was  forced  to  abandon  the  idea  be- 
cause the  local  unions  refused  to  supply  him  with  the  neces- 
sary information.^^ 

28  Proceedings,  1873,  p.  25. 

29  Proceedings,  1881,  p.  25. 

30  Proceedings,  1882,  p.  32. 

•*i  Fortieth  Annual  Report  of  the  President  and  Secretary,   ujo^, 

P-  334- 

32  Proceedings,  1910,  p.  169. 

33  Interview,  August,  1915. 


86  UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

About  ninety  per  cent  of  the  American  trade  unions  pub- 
lish weekly  or  monthly  journals  which  in  a  number  of 
unions  are  set  free  to  each  member.  Some  of  the  unions, 
realizing  the  possibilities  of  these  journals  as  a  means  of 
conveying  information  respecting  employment  conditions 
have  utilized  them  for  this  purpose.  For  example,  the 
Cigar  Makers,  Iron  Holders,  Plasterers,  and  Sheet  Metal 
Workers  publish  every  month  in  their  journals  the  state  of 
trade  in  each  of  their  local  unions.  The  Woodcarvers' 
Journal  contains  reports  from  the  local  unions  giving  the 
number  of  shops  in  which  trade  is  good,  fair  and  dull,  and 
the  number  of  members  employed  and  unemployed.  The 
Bricklayers  and  Masons,  Carpenters,  FHnt  Glass  Workers, 
and  Plumbers  publish  lists  of  cities  in  which  trade  is  dull. 

Some  of  the  building-trades  unions  have  for  many  years 
given  considerable  space  in  their  journals  to  construction 
news  in  various  cities.  Lists  of  the  principal  contracts 
which  have  been  awarded  and  advanced  information  rela- 
tive to  proposed  buildings  are  published.  The  Bridge  and 
Structural  Iron  Workers'  journal  contains  a  list  of  all  iron 
and  steel  buildings  and  bridges  that  are  contemplated,  and 
the  Bricklayers  and  Masons  and  the  Lathers  publish  news 
concerning  all  construction  work  that  will  give  employment 
to  their  members.  While  this  information  is  sometimes  val- 
uable to  those  who  wish  employment,  these  lists  have  in 
many  cases  caused  needless  traveling.  A  bricklayer  notic- 
ing in  the  journal  that  several  large  contracts  have  been 
awarded  in  a  distant  city  may  not  know  whether  the  con- 
struction is  to  be  of  brick,  or  whether  the  general  condition 
of  trade  in  the  particular  city  is  such  that  additional  men 
will  be  required.  There  have  been  many  complaints  in  the 
Bricklayers'  Union  concerning  the  publication  of  news  of 
this  kind,  and  at  times  the  journal  has  discontinued  pub- 
lishing it.  The  Stone  Cutters'  Journal  for  several  years 
contained  a  list  of  contracts  awarded,  but  discontinued  its 
publication  in  May,  1915.  Secretary  Drayer  said  that  much 
needless  traveling  had  been  caused  by  the  publication  of 


UNION  AGENCIES  FOR  DISTRIBUTION  OF  WORKMEN         87 

these  lists  since  members  had  transferred  to  cities  in  which 
the  journal  had  noted  great  building  activity,  only  to  find 
that  on  some  of  the  large  buildings  not  more  than  a  few 
hundred  dollars  worth  of  stone  was  to  be  used,  and  in  some 
cases  that  terra  cotta  had  been  substituted  entirely  for 
stone.^* 

The  Boot  and  Shoe  Workers,  Coopers,  Gannent  Work- 
ers, Granite  Cutters,  and  Leather  Workers  on  Horse  Goods 
publish  the  names  and  addresses  of  employers  who  conduct 
strictly  union  establishments,  and  do  not  prohibit  their 
members  from  writing  to  employers  for  employment. 

In  all  trade-union  journals  there  is  a  great  amount  of 
correspondence  from  the  local-union  secretaries  and  busi- 
ness agents.  In  those  unions  which  have  a  relatively  small 
number  of  local  unions  there  is  opportunity  for  all  localities 
to  be  represented,  but  in  some  of  the  larger  building-trades 
unions,  for  example,  the  Carpenters,  Painters,  and  Brick- 
layers and  Masons,  this  is  not  feasible.  These  reports  from 
the  local  unions  generally  contain  information  as  to  the  state 
of  trade,  the  number  of  members  employed  and  unemployed 
and  the  prospects  for  employment.  In  some  cases  this  cor- 
respondence is  very  valuable  to  the  members  who  wish  to 
secure  employment.  Among  the  journals  which  serve  the 
purpose  very  well,  those  of  the  following  unions  may  be 
cited:  Photo-Engravers,  Bookbinders,  Printers,  Flint  Glass 
Workers,  Granite  Cutters,  and  Bridge  and  Structural  Iron 
Workers.  For  the  information  of  those  members  who  may 
desire  to  write  to  the  business  agent  or  secretary  of  a  local 
union  as  to  the  chances  for  employment  in  other  localities, 
32  of  the  80  trade-union  journals  print  lists  of  local-union 
secretaries  and  business  agents  with  their  addresses. 

Several  of  the  subdivisions  of  the  national  unions,  such 
as  state  conferences  and  districts  councils,  have  attempted 
to  devise  means  by  which  information  concerning  the  state 
of  trade  could  be  conveyed  to  the  unemployed.  Among  the 
building-trades  unions,  conferences  are  formed  in  the  vari- 


s*  Stone  Cutters'  Journal,  May,  1915,  p.  i. 


88         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

ous  States,  composed  of  the  local  unions.  The  Bricklayers 
and  Masons  have  25  such  conferences,  while  the  Painters 
have  17  and  the  Carpenters  10.  The  Texas  State  Council 
of  Carpenters  sends  to  each  of  its  members  a  monthly  report 
of  the  number  employed  and  unemployed,  the  prospects  for 
employment,  and  the  number  of  men  wanted  in  each  local 
union. 3^  The  Massachusetts  State  Conference  of  Brick- 
layers and  Masons  also  publishes  monthly  reports  of  the 
condition  of  trade  in  each  local  union.^" 

Some  of  the  districts  of  the  unions  have  gone  further  than 
simply  publishing-  the  condition  of  trade,  and  have  estab- 
lished employment  bureaus.  Thus,  the  New  England  Typo- 
graphical Union  and  the  Indiana  Typographical  Conference 
have  conducted  employment  bureaus  for  several  years,  and 
President  Lynch  of  the  Printers  says  they  have  produced 
results  "to  the  satisfaction  of  affiliated  unions  and  their 
members.""  The  district  vice-presidents  of  the  Lithog- 
raphers receive  applications  for  employment  and  requests 
from  the  employers  for  workmen.  Vice-President  Lawrence 
reported  that  in  1906  he  had  succeeded  in  supplying  the  em- 
ployers in  his  district  with  workmen  from  the  five  hundred 
applications  which  he  had  received  during  the  year  from 
unemployed  members. ^'^  Frequently  several  local  unions  of 
a  trade  will  conduct  an  employment  bureau  in  common. 
Thus  in  191 5  the  railroad  divisions  of  the  Sheet  Metal 
Workers  established  an  employment  bureau  in  St.  Louis, 
Missouri.^^  This  practise  exists  to  a  certain  extent  among 
the  pattern  makers  and  in  some  other  unions.  It  may  be 
said  that  while  these  subdivisions  of  the  unions  do  not  gen- 
erally cooperate  very  readily  with  one  another  in  employ- 
ment matters,  they  serve  in  some  degree  by  their  connec- 
tions to  direct  the  unemployed  to  localities  in  which  work 
can  be  secured. 

35  The  Carpenter,  September,  1906,  p.  40. 

^^  Bricklayer  and  Mason,  May,  1908,  p.  70. 

3T  Proceedings,  1912,  p.  21. 

38  Proceedings,  1906,  p.  193. 

3^  Sheet  Metal  Workers'  Journal,  October,  1915,  p.  399. 


UNION  AGENCIES  FOR  DISTRIBUTION  OF  WORKMEN         89 

In  those  unions  which  do  not  maintain  employment  bu- 
reaus at  the  national  headquarters,  additional  workmen  are 
generally  secured  by  one  local  union's  writing  or  telegraph- 
ing to  other  local  unions.  This  method  is  largely  employed 
by  the  building-trades  unions.  When  New  York  City  is  in 
need  of  additional  building-trades  mechanics,  either  Phila- 
delphia, Baltimore,  Boston,  Albany,  or  Pittsburg  is  notified 
of  the  shortage  of  men.  Sometimes,  as  is  the  case  with  the 
Elevator  Constructors  and  Bridge  and  Structural  Iron 
Workers,  the  business  agent  telegraphs  to  the  local  union 
of  a  nearby  city  to  send  a  certain  number  of  men,  with  the 
understanding  that  these  men  will  be  guaranteed  employ- 
ment if  they  come.  The  following  letter,  which  was  printed 
in  the  Bridge  and  Structural  Iron  Workers'  Journal,  was 
written  by  the  business  agent  of  Salt  Lake  City,  and  illus- 
trates the  methods  in  force.  "  I  received  a  telegram  from  busi- 
ness agent  Hendricks  of  Los  Angeles  asking  me  if  I  could 
furnish  eight  men  for  the  San  Pedro  at  Calientes,  Nevada.  T 
replied  that  I  could  send  as  many  men  as  was  needed.  I 
received  another  telegram  to  send  eleven  men,  so  I  sent 
them  out  on  the  24th  on  the  bases  of  $4.50  for  nine  hours 
and  transportation  expenses."*" 

But  the  greater  part  of  the  movement  of  trade  unionists 
in  search  of  employment  does  not  result  either  from  the 
activities  of  the  union  employment  bureaus  or  through  the 
notification  of  one  local  union  by  another  that  men  are 
needed.  The  ordinary  member  realizes  that  local  unions 
do  not  generally  send  for  additional  men  until  the  pressure 
from  employers  forces  them  to  do  so.  He  knows  that  there 
are  numerous  instances  in  which  other  local  unions  are  not 
notified  of  opportunities  for  employment  even  after  the  em- 
ployers register  their  wants.  Therefore,  workmen  keep  in 
communication  with  one  another  and  when  the  prospects 
are  good,  those  who  are  cognizant  of  the  fact  notify  their 
friends.  Many  workmen  also  write  to  the  various  business 
agents  and  local  union  secretaries  to  inquire  about  the  pros- 

*"  The  Bridgemen's  Magazine,  July,  191 1,  p.  448- 


90         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

pects  for  employment.  This  is  the  manner  in  which  the 
unemployed,  who  are  not  habitual  "  travelers,"  generally 
secure  their  information.  At  times  the  local  union  secre- 
taries complain  that  they  are  compelled  to  answer  too  many 
letters.  The  Washington  business  agent  of  the  Bridge  and 
Structural  Iron  Workers  reported  in  1904  that  he  received 
an  average  of  four  letters  each  day  from  members  asking 
for  information  concerning  the  prospects  for  employment.^^ 
Other  workmen  write  to  their  friends  in  other  cities  inquir- 
ing as  to  the  conditions  of  trade. 

We  have  outlined,  so  far  as  ascertainable,  the  methods  of 
those  unions  which  have  attempted  to  devise  means  for 
giving  information  to  the  unemployed  which  will  enable 
them  to  find  employment  in  other  places.  There  are  in  the 
United  States  over  125  national  unions.  Of  these,  we  have 
found  that  only  14  maintain  employment  bureaus.  And  of 
these  14  bureaus,  only  seven  can  be  said  to  possess  merit. 
The  value  of  the  others  to  the  unemployed  is  negligible. 
Numerous  reasons  have  been  advanced  by  trade  unionists 
for  the  lack  of  success  of  the  employment  bureaus  which 
have  been  established,  and  for  the  fact  that  the  other  unions 
do  not  even  attempt  to  provide  means  for  the  dissemination 
of  a  knowledge  of  trade  conditions.  The  failure  of  Ameri- 
can unions  to  solve  the  problem  of  transferring  their  mem- 
bers from  localities  in  which  trade  is  poor  to  those  in  which 
work  can  be  secured  is  chiefly  attributable  to  the  selfishness 
of  the  local  unions  There  are  very  few  trades  in  which 
traveling  members  do  not  receive  a  cool  welcome  from  the 
local  unions  in  which  they  deposit  their  cards.  The  mem- 
bers of  a  local  union  look  upon  the  work  to  be  done  in  their 
community  as  belonging  to  them,  and  they  resent  any  in- 
trusion upon  the  part  of  non-residents.  Although  this  at- 
titude is  contrary  to  the  doctrines  of  unionism,  the  greater 
number  of  union  officials  concede  its  existence.  It  is  this 
spirit  which  has  made  it  impossible  to  induce  the  local  unions 
of  the  Bricklayers  and  Masons,  the  Cigar  Makers  and  vari- 

<i  Ibid.,  August,  1904,  p.  28. 


UNION  AGENCIES  FOR  DISTRIBUTION  OF  WORKMEN         91 

ous  Other  unions,  to  report  to  other  localities  when  men  were 
needed. 

Even  when  additional  men  are  in  great  demand  the  local 
union  will  not  attempt  to  obtain  members  from  other  locali- 
ties. The  secretary  of  the  Bricklayers  and  Masons  in  1901 
said:  "The  local  unions  would  rather  allow  non-union  men 
to  be  employed  at  periods  of  prosperity  than  secure  outside 
union  men,  for  fear  that  the  latter  would  stay  in  town  after 
the  busy  season  was  over,  and  thus  there  would  be  less 
work  per  capita  for  the  members."*-  Many  devices  besides 
the  use  of  non-union  workmen  are  practised  in  order  to 
minimize  the  demand  for  workmen  from  other  cities.  Over- 
time is  frequently  worked  and  it  has  been  said  that  the  men 
will  perform  work  which  would  ordinarily  require  the  serv- 
ices of  more  men.  The  editor  of  the  Bookbinders'  Journal, 
in  remarking  upon  the  selfishness  of  the  local  unions,  said : 
"  I  am  confident  that  the  spirit  of  home-guardism  has  been 
and  still  is  detrimental  to  our  interests,  and  best  shows  a 
clannish  spirit  which  often  keeps  an  extra  man  out  of  a 
shop  while  a  crew  of  five  men  will  go  on  and  do  the  work 
of  a  crew  formerly  consisting  of  six  men."*^ 

The  local  unions  have  not  been  content  with  denying  to 
non-residents  the  knowledge  of  trade  conditions,  but  have 
also  enforced  rules  which  are  designed  to  make  it  more 
difficult  for  the  traveling  members  to  gain  admission  to  the 
local  union.  Many  of  the  local  unions  of  the  Bricklayers 
demand  the  sum  of  $5.00  before  traveling  cards  are  ac- 
cepted.** 

Some  local  unions  have  gone  even  further,  according  to 
the  secretary  of  the  Electrical  Workers,  who  says  that  in 
191 5  complaints  were  received  that  the  local  unions  in  some 
localities  had  refused  to  accept  traveling  cards  on  any  con- 
dition.*^  Secretary  Skemp  of  the  Painters  reported  to  the 
convention  of  191 5  that  there  was  a  "growing  disposition  to 


**The  Bricklayer  and  Mason,  September,  1901,  p.  I. 
**  International  Bookbinder,  June,  191 1,  p.  238. 
**The  Thirty-fifth  Annual  Report  of  the  President  and  Secretary, 
1500,  p.  128. 
*6  Electrical  Worker,  August,  1914,  p.  370. 


92         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND    AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

deny  traveling  members  the  right  to  deposit  clearance  cards," 
and  that  "  all  kinds  of  schemes  are  devised  and  excuses 
invented  to  keep  the  stranger  without  the  gate  and  reserve 
the  work  for  the  resident  member.^''' 

Even  after  the  traveling  member  has  gained  admission, 
he  is  not  infrequently  discriminated  against.  The  local 
unions,  in  many  cases,  manage  so  that  resident  members 
shall  be  given  preference  over  traveling  members  when  em- 
ployment is  offered.  It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  in  the 
building-trades  unions  of  New  York,  Chicago  and  several 
other  cities  the  non-resident  member  has  small  chance  of 
securing  work  until  the  business  agent  has  placed  the  resi- 
dent members.  A  national  rule  of  the  Cutters  in  the  Flint 
Glass  Workers  gives  preference  to  local  workmen,*"  and 
there  have  been  cases  in  the  Marble  Workers*®  and  in  other 
unions  where  traveling  members  who  had  deposited  their 
cards  and  had  received  employment  were  forced  by  the 
business  agent  to  transfer  to  another  city  in  order  to  "  make 
room  for  resident  members  who  were  unemployed." 

The  exclusiveness  of  the  local  union  is  not  always  due  to 
the  desire  to  retain  all  work  for  the  resident  members.  Fre- 
quently a  local  union  desires  to  make  demands  upon  the  em- 
ployers for  an  increase  of  wages  or  for  better  working  condi- 
tions, and  a  time  when  the  locality  is  in  need  of  additional 
men  offers  a  favorable  occasion  for  the  local  union  to  en- 
force its  demands.  At  such  a  time  the  local  union  does  not 
want  the  information  that  employment  conditions  are  good 
to  reach  other  localities,  and  consequently  it  will  try  to  keep 
the  traveler  from  the  city. 

If  the  trade  unionist  has  secured,  through  the  aid  of  the 
agencies  described  above,  or  otherwise,  information  as  to 
where  he  will  be  able  to  secure  employment,  there  remains 
the  problem  of  getting  to  the  place  where  employment  may 


*^  Report  of  General  Officers  to  the  Eleventh  Convention,   1913, 
p.  71- 

*''  Rules  of  the  Cutters,  No.  22,  in  Proceedings  of  the  Flint  Glass 
Workers,  191 1,  p.  143. 

48  Proceedings,  1913,  p.  163. 


UNION  AGENCIES  FOR  DISTRIBUTION  OF  WORKMEN         93 

be  had.  The  knowledge  that  a  position  can  be  secured  in 
another  city  is  of  no  value  to  a  workman  unless  he  is  able 
to  make  the  transfer.  Inasmuch  as  the  distances  to  be 
traversed  in  some  cases  require  the  expenditure  of  a  con- 
siderable sum  of  money,  the  workman  sometimes  finds  him- 
self unable  to  go. 

In  some  trades  the  employers  advance  traveling  expenses, 
but  this  is  not  usual.  Only  in  periods  of  great  prosperity 
are  such  instances  general.  Thus  in  1901,  during  a  scarcity 
of  granite  cutters  in  the  East,  a  firm  in  Hall  Quarry,  Maine, 
furnished  transportation  expenses  to  twenty  men  from  Ray- 
mond, California.*'-'  But  in  a  normal  season  employers  of 
granite  cutters  do  not  advance  expenses  to  their  workmen. 
In  some  unions,  such  as  the  Elevator  Constructors  and 
Bridge  and  Structural  Iron  Workers  whose  members  are 
taken  by  the  employers  from  one  city  to  another,  the  ex- 
penses are  paid  by  the  employers.  As  a  general  rule,  how- 
ever, the  workmen  are  forced  to  rely  upon  their  union  or 
their  own  resources  for  traveling  expenses  even  when  they 
are  engaged  by  an  employer  in  another  locality. 

Only  in  a  small  percentage  of  cases  are  workmen  assured 
of  employment  before  the  actual  transfer  is  made.  They 
may  have  been  led  to  expect  work  at  such  and  such  a  place, 
but  it  is  usually  only  after  their  arrival  that  they  obtain  em- 
ployment. In  these  cases  the  workman  can  not  look  to  the 
employer  for  transportation  expenses.  If  he  is  unable  to 
pay  the  expense,  his  recourse  must  in  most  cases  be  to  his 
union.^°  Many  of  the  unions  have  considered  it  their  duty 
to  furnish  members  who  desire  to  travel  with  the  necessary 
transportation  expenses,  either  as  a  loan  or  a  gift. 

The  following  table  shows  the  amounts  which  have  been 
expended  for  this  benefit  since  1903  by  those  unions  which 
report  to  the  American  Federation  of  Labor. 

49  Granite  Cutters'  Journal,  August,  1901,  p.  5- 

so  Some  of  the  railroad  systems  have  agreed  to  give  transporta- 
tion to  members  of  the  Brotherhoods  who  are  unemployed  and  are 
travehng  in  search  of  work,  provided  they  have  Iiccn  engaged  hy  a 
common  carrier  within  the  previous  ninety  days.  Tiiis  is  done  under 
a  provision  made  by  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  (Loco- 
motive Engineers'  Journal,  January,  1913,  p.  44). 


94 


UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN   TRADE   UNIONS 


Amounts  Paid  as  Traveling  Loans  and  Benefits 


Year 

Amount 

Year 

Amount 

1903 

$84,891.58 

I9IO 

$42,999.55 

1904 

73,441-90 

I9II 

58,784.71 

1905 

62,989.71 

I912 

40,571.02 

1906 

57,340.93 

I9I3 

33,693-10 

1907 

53,598.86 

I914 

54,404.90 

1908 

51,093.86 

I915 

70,346.70 

1909 

51,967.87 

Total 

$746,122.69 

The  systems  of  traveling  loans  and  benefits  in  American 
trade  unions  have  been,  generally  speaking,  failures.  At  one 
time  or  another  the  following  unions  have  paid  traveling 
loans  or  benefits:  Cigar  Makers,  Flint  Glass  Workers, 
Granite  Cutters,  Leather  Workers  on  Horse  Goods,  Lithog- 
raphers, Machinists,  Typographia,  and  White  Rats  Actors. 
Only  the  Cigar  Makers  and  Lithographers  have  maintained 
their  systems  to  the  present. 

During  the  earliest  years  of  the  Cigar  Makers'  Union 
members  who  desired  to  travel  in  search  of  employment 
were  granted  loans  by  the  local  unions.  As  no  great  efforts 
were  made  by  the  local  unions  to  which  the  members  trans- 
ferred to  collect  these  loans,  the  system  of  loans  from  local 
unions  was  superseded  in  1867  by  a  system  established  and 
maintained  by  the  national  union. '^  Under  this  plan  an  un- 
employed member  was  entitled  to  a  loan  sufficient  to  take 
him  to  the  nearest  union.  The  loan  was  to  be  repaid  to  the 
local  union  in  which  the  member  secured  employment  in 
weekly  installments  to  the  amount  of  twenty  per  cent  of  the 
member's  earnings.^-  The  carelessness  of  the  secretaries 
in  collecting  these  loans  made  the  system  an  absolute  failure 
and  it  was  abolished  in  1878.^^ 

The  local  union  of  Warren,  Pennsylvania,  then  proposed 
that  the  National  Union  maintain  a  "  traveling  fund "  for 
the  purpose  of  aiding  traveling  members.  This  aid  was  to 
be  a  gift  and  not  a  loan,  but  the  measure  failed  of  adoption. 

51  Proceedings,  1867,  p.  155. 

^2  Constitution,  1867,  art.  11. 

53  Cigar  Makers'  Journal,  October  5,  1878,  p.  3. 


UNION  AGENCIES  FOR  DISTRIBUTION  OF  WORKMEN         95 

However,  in  the  following  year  Secretary  Samuel  Gompers 
of  the  New  York  local  union  proposed  a  new  plan  which 
was  adopted  by  referendum  vote.^*  It  provided  that  any 
member  in  good  standing  for  six  months  who  was  unem- 
ployed and  desired  to  travel  was  entitled  to  a  loan  sufficient 
for  tranportation  expenses  by  the  cheapest  route  to  the 
nearest  local  union,  and  so  on  to  the  next  union,  until  the 
loans  reached  the  sum  of  $20.00.^^  The  amount  of  any  one 
loan  was  limited  to  $12.00  in  1884,^*^  and  in  1896  it  was 
further  reduced  to  $8.00.^^  The  system  in  operation  at 
present  provides  that  members  who  desire  to  obtain  traveling 
loans  must  have  been  in  good  standing  for  one  year.  After 
obtaining  employment  the  borrower  must  pay  to  the  col- 
lector of  the  shop  in  which  he  is  employed  ten  per  cent  of 
his  weekly  earnings  until  the  loan  is  repaid.^^ 

The  Granite  Cutters  established  a  traveling  loan  system  in 
1880,  three  years  after  the  organization  of  the  national 
union.  It  provided  that  any  member  in  good  standing  for 
at  least  six  months  who  was  not  able  to  obtain  employ- 
ment and  wished  to  transfer  to  another  local  union  was 
entitled  to  a  loan  of  not  more  than  $10.00.  It  was  neces- 
sary for  the  borrower  to  secure  two  members  in  good  stand- 
ing to  become  security  for  him,  and  the  loan  was  to  be 
repaid  in  installments  of  ten  per  cent  of  the  weekly  earn- 
ings.^^  In  1888  the  latter  provision  was  changed  so  that 
the  member  was  required  to  pay  the  loan  in  installments  of 
twenty-five  per  cent  of  his  weekly  earnings.'"'''  From  the 
outset  the  system  was  a  failure  on  account  of  the  difficulty 
in  securing  payment  of  loans.  It  was  thought  that  the  pro- 
vision that  those  acting  as  security  for  the  loans  should  be 
held  responsible  would  prove  a  safeguard.  But  in  1891  the 
secretary  said  that  the  majority  of  the  members  "  regarded 

5*  Ibid.,  August,  1879,  p.  2. 
55  Constitution,  1880,  art.  4. 
«"  Constitution,  1884,  art.  7. 

57  Constitution,  1896,  art.  27. 

58  Constitution,  1912,  sees.  104-116. 
5»  Constitution,  1880,  art.  43. 

60  Constitution,  1888,  art.  33. 


96         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE    UNIONS 

vouching  as  an  empty  formality "  as  was  shown  by  the 
number  of  loans  then  unpaid.^^  President  Duncan  states 
that  the  abuses  finally  became  so  flagrant  that  the  entire 
system  was  abolished  in  1897.  There  were  instances  in 
which  three  members  would  unite  for  the  purpose  of  secur- 
ing loans.  Each  wovild  secure  a  loan  with  the  other  two 
as  security,  and  in  many  cases  none  of  the  money  was  re- 
paid.®- In  March,  1902,  five  years  after  the  abolition  of 
the  system,  the  secretary  published  a  list  of  loans  amounting 
to  several  thousand  dollars  which  were  still  unpaid.*'" 

The  history  of  the  traveling  loan  in  the  Flint  Glass  Work- 
ers is  much  the  same.  During  the  earliest  years  of  the 
union  the  unemployed  who  desired  to  travel  in  search  of 
employment  were  furnished  transportation  by  the  national 
union.  The  applicant  was  required  before  a  loan  was 
granted  to  submit  satisfactory  evidence  that  he  had  secured 
a  position.  The  system  proved  a  complete  failure.  Secre- 
tary Kunzler  reported  to  the  convention  of  1896  that  some 
members  had  procured  loans  by  means  of  false  telegrams 
and  letters  which  purported  to  show  that  there  were  jobs 
at  some  place  ready  for  them.  He  also  said  that  of  the 
$10,000  which  had  been  loaned  from  1885  to  1896  only 
eighteen  per  cent  had  been  repaid.'^* 

At  various  conventions  the  union  adopted  rules  which  it 
was  thought  would  safeguard  the  union  against  unauthor- 
ized loans,  but  the  traveling  members  always  succeeded  in 
evading  them.  During  the  years  preceding  1902  the  system 
was  still  further  abused  and  the  loans  became  in  reality  gifts. 
Secretary  Dobbins  reported  to  the  convention  of  1902  that 
of  the  $3,376.04  loaned  during*  the  previous  year  only 
$975.53  had  been  repaid,  and  a  large  part  of  the  sum  re- 
ceived was  deducted  from  strike  benefits  and  bills  sent  to 
the  office  for  personal  services.  He  said  that  members  still 
persisted    in    sending   to   the    union    letters    and   telegrams 

61  Granite  Cutters'  Journal,  April,  1891,  p.  4. 
<^2  Letter  to  the  writer,  October  20,  1915. 
^^  Granite  Cutters'  Journal,  March,  1902,  p.  14. 
*^*  Proceedings,  1896,  p.  87. 


UNION  AGENCIES  FOR  DISTRIBUTION  OF  WORKMEN         97 

written  by  one  member  to  another  telling  him  to  come  on 
immediately  as  there  was  a  job  awaiting  him,  but  in  the 
majority  of  cases  the  member  never  transferred  to  another 
city.®^  At  this  convention  the  membership  became  so 
aroused  over  the  granting  of  illegal  loans  that  there  was  a 
movement  to  abolish  the  whole  system,  but  it  did  not  sue- 
ceed.^^ 

At  the  convention  in  1904  several  new  provisions  were 
adopted.  The  national  secretary  was  to  loan  no  money  to 
members  except  for  transportation  expenses  and  then  only 
when  the  applicant  had  a  letter  or  telegram  from  an  em- 
ployer or  local  union  to  prove  that  the  member  was  guar- 
anteed a  job.  The  member  securing  the  loan  was  required 
to  sign  a  promissory  note  for  the  amount  borrowed  and  was 
to  pay  ten  per  cent  of  his  earnings  until  the  loan  was  repaid. 
The  national  secretary  was  to  notify  the  trade  by  circular 
of  the  loans  granted  and  the  local  unions  were  held  respon- 
sible for  the  debts  of  their  members.''^  As  a  result  of  these 
rules  a  greater  percentage  of  the  loans  were  repaid,  and 
there  was  a  great  increase  in  the  amounts  loaned.  The  union 
was  still  unable  to  force  many  local  unions  to  collect  the 
loans  and  in  several  instances  local  unions  were  not  per- 
mitted to  send  delegates  to  the  convention  because  they 
were  not  prompt  in  the  collection  of  loans.  Frequently, 
delegates  to  the  conventions  were  found  to  be  the  worst 
offenders.  In  April,  1907,  the  national  secretary  issued  a 
pamphlet  containing  the  names  of  1304  members  who  had 
borrowed  an  aggregate  sum  of  $24,000,  an  average  of  more 
than  $18.  Several  months  later,  the  secretary  reported  that 
he  had  succeeded  in  finding  only  109  of  the  debtors.  When 
this  was  reported  to  the  convention  there  was  little  opposi- 
tion to  the  abolition  of  the  entire  system  of  traveling  loans.^* 

During  the  next  few  years  the  traveling  members  waged 
a  campaign  for  the  reestablishment  of  the  loan  system  and 

6s  Proceedings,  1902,  pp.  127,  128. 
fi^  Ibid.,  p.  203. 

«7  Proceedings,  1904,  pp.  229,  230. 

«s  Proceedings,  1907,  pp.  93,  I74- 

7 


98         UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

this,  coupled  with  the  scarcity  of  men  in  some  places,  led  to 
a  reconsideration  at  the  convention  in  1910.  It  was  said 
that  the  abolition  of  the  system  had  "  worked  a  hardship 
upon  our  members  in  not  being  able  to  secure  transporta- 
tion from  one  locality  to  another  and  that  it  has  caused 
many  complaints  from  manufacturers  on  account  of  many 
places  standing  idle  in  their  factories."  The  convention 
reestablished  the  system  with  entitely  new  rules.^^  It  was 
provided  that  a  member  should  have  been  unemployed  for 
two  weeks  and  must  be  free  of  any  indebtedness  to  the  union 
before  he  was  entitled  to  a  loan.  He  was  required  also  to 
show  a  letter  from  the  employer  or  local  union  to  prove  that 
he  was  guaranteed  a  position.  After  securing  employment 
ten  per  cent  of  his  earnings  were  to  be  paid  until  the  loan 
was  repaid.  A  local  union  which  accepted  the  card  of  a 
member  who  had  borrowed  transportation  expenses  and 
failed  to  collect  ten  per  cent  of  his  earnings  was  held  re- 
sponsible for  the  debt.'" 

During  the  first  year  of  operation  only  thirty-five  per  cent 
of  the  loans  were  repaid  and  the  abuses  which  characterized 
the  old  system  soon  reappeared.'^^  The  national  officers 
were  powerless  to  prevent  the  granting  of  illegal  loans  and 
were  unable  to  force  the  local-union  secretaries  to  collect 
the  loans  when  made.  The  abuses  became  so  flagrant  that 
the  system  was  again  abolished  at  the  convention  in  1913,^" 
and  no  loans  have  been  granted  since  January  i,  1914. 
However,  at  the  convention  in  191 5  there  was  a  movement 
for  its  reestablishment,  but  owing  to  the  strong  opposition 
of  the  officers  the  motion  failed  of  adoption."^ 

The  White  Rats  Actors  established  in  1912  a  system  of 
traveling  loans  which  was  not  unlike  that  of  the  Flint  Glass 
Workers.  Only  those  members  who  could  show  an  "  en- 
forceable contract  with  a  responsible  manager  for  an  en- 
gagement" were  entitled  to  a  loan.     The  borrower  gave  a 

69  Proceedings,  1910,  p.  143. 

70  Ibid.,  p.  153. 

"^^  Proceedings,  1912,  p.  216. 
■^2  Proceedings,  1913,  p.  292. 
73  Proceedings,  1915,  p.  315. 


UNION  AGENCIES  FOR  DISTRIBUTION  OF  WORKMEN         99 

promissory  note  for  the  amount  loaned  and  agreed  to  repay 
the  same  out  of  the  first  week's  salary.  If  he  failed  to  re- 
pay the  loan,  the  union  attached  his  wages.''*  With  such 
precautionary  measures  it  was  thought  that  very  few  losses 
would  result.  During  1912  there  was  loaned  $32,000,  of 
which  $14,155  was  outstanding  in  April,  1913.^^  During 
the  next  two  years  about  $60,000  was  loaned  and  the  amount 
which  was  not  repaid  of  the  loans  granted  during  the 
three  years  of  the  operation  of  the  system  was  $14,000. 
Thus  the  union  lost  fifteen  per  cent  of  the  amount  loaned. 
The  members  decided  that  the  system  was  costing  too  much 
in  proportion  to  the  benefits  received  and  abolished  it  in 
August,  191 S.^*' 

The  Leather  Workers  on  Horse  Goods  established  a  trav- 
eling loan  system  when  the  union  was  organized  in  1896. 
It  was  provided  that  an  unemployed  member  could  obtain 
from  a  local  union  a  loan  sufficient  to  transport  him  to  the 
nearest  branch  in  the  direction  he  wished  to  travel.  The 
first  loan  was  not  to  exceed  $12.50  while  the  total  amount 
which  could  be  borrowed  in  any  year  was  $21.00.  The  loan 
was  to  be  repaid  in  installments  of  fifteen  per  cent  of  the 
member's  weekly  earnings.'^^  Flagrant  abuses  soon  crept  in 
and  the  president  frequently  notified  the  local  union  secre- 
taries that  many  illegal  loans  were  being  granted  and  only 
a  small  percentage  of  loans  were  being  repaid.  But  no 
improvement  resulted  from  the  publicity  given  to  the  abuses, 
and  the  system  was  abolished  in  October,  1904.''^ 

The  Machinists,  soon  after  the  union  was  organized,  also 
established  a  traveling  loan  system.  The  loans  were  granted 
by  the  local  unions  and  it  appears  that  they  suffered  all 
losses.  It  had  been  expected  that  the  local  unions  would 
be  careful  in  granting  loans  and  in  seeing  that  they  were 
repaid.     In  1895  the  president  reported  that  during  the  two 

7<  Constitution,  1912,  art.  14.  sec.  i. 

75  Letter  from  Secretary  W.  W.  Waters  to  the  writer,  April  22, 

76  Letter  from  Secretary  to  tlie  writer,  November  «,  1913. 

77  Constitution,  1896,  art.  4,  sec.  i. 

78  Leather  Workers'  Journal,  January,  1905,  p.  252. 


lOO       UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

previous  years  $5,000  had  been  loaned,  and  the  system  had 
"been  unmercifully  abused."'^  During  the  next  two  years 
$6,124  was  loaned  to  traveling  members.  Only  a  small 
amount  was  ever  repaid.  This  was  due,  the  president  said, 
to  the  fact  that  there  was  no  provision  as  to  the  limit  of  time 
for  the  payment  of  the  loans. ^°  At  the  convention  in  1897 
it  was  provided  that  the  loans  must  be  repaid  within  ten 
weeks  after  they  were  granted.^^  The  unemployed  mem- 
ber was  not  granted  a  loan  unless  his  dues  had  been  paid 
to  date,  and  the  amount  that  could  be  borrowed  at  any  one 
time  was  not  to  exceed  $5.00,  nor  could  any  further  loan  be 
secured  until  the  previous  one  had  been  repaid.  The  finan- 
cial secretary  of  the  local  union  to  which  the  member  trav- 
eled was  required  to  collect  the  sum  borrowed  and  forward 
it  to  the  local  union  which  granted  it.  The  system  failed 
completely.  In  1903  President  O'Connell  said  that  only  a 
small  percentage  of  the  loans  were  repaid,  that  the  system 
had  tended  to  encourage  dishonesty,  and  that  it  had  caused 
an  unlimited  number  of  disputes  among  the  local  unions. 
For  these  reasons  he  recommended  that  it  be  abolished.*- 
The  convention  in  1903  decided  that  no  further  loans  would 
be  granted  after  July  31  of  that  year.^^ 

The  system  of  traveling  loans  of  the  Lithographers  is 
similar  to  that  of  the  ^Machinists  in  that  the  loans  are  made 
by  the  local  unions  and  all  losses  are  met  by  the  local  unions. 
The  national  constitution  provides  that  any  member  who 
desires  to  travel  in  search  of  employment,  and  is  in  need 
of  financial  assistance  shall  make  application  to  the  local 
union  for  a  loan.  The  local  executive  board  investigates 
the  application  and  grants  the  loan  if  the  member  appears 
worthy.  The  amount  of  the  loan  is  entered  in  the  member's 
dues-book  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  secretary  of  the  local 
union  to  which  the  member  transfers,  to  collect  the  loan  and 

''^  Proceedings,  1895,  p.  12. 

80  Proceedings,  1897,  p.  8. 

81  Constitution,  1897,  art.  10,  sec.  3. 
*2  Proceedings,  1903,  p.  402. 

83  Ibid.,  p.  531. 


UNION  AGENCIES  FOR  DISTRIBUTION  OF  WORKMEN      Id 

return  it  to  the  local  union  which  granted  it.^*  No  statistics 
are  available  as  to  the  amounts  which  have  been  loaned  and 
collected  during  the  existence  of  the  system,  but  it  is  said 
that  the  members  make  considerable  use  of  it. 

The  Deutsch-Amerikanischen  Typographia  established  its 
traveling  benefit  in  connection  with  an  out-of-work  benefit 
in  1884.^^  This  system  dififered  from  others  in  that  the 
traveling  member  was  given  the  transportation  expenses  as 
a  gift  and  not  as  a  loan.  An  unemployed  member  in  good 
standing  for  six  months  was  entitled  to  two  cents  per  mile 
for  the  first  two  hundred  miles  and  one  cent  for  each  addi- 
tional mile  he  wished  to  travel,  provided  that  the  total  sum 
did  not  exceed  $10.  After  spending  three  months  in  the 
local  union  to  which  he  traveled  he  was  entitled  to  trans- 
portation expenses  to  another  local  union,  but  he  could  not 
draw  more  than  $25  in  one  year.  If  a  member  became  un- 
employed through  his  own  fault,  he  was  not  entitled  to  the 
benefit  for  three  months,  and  if  the  position  had  been  given 
up  voluntarily,  he  could  not  receive  the  benefit  unless  the 
executive  council  of  the  local  union  approved  his  action. 
Those  who  drew  the  traveling  benefit  were  supposed  to 
transfer  at  once  to  another  city  or  return  the  amount  re- 
ceived. Although  the  benefit  was  free,  it  appears  never  to 
have  been  greatly  utilized.  For  example,  in  1907  there  were 
only  fifteen  members  who  applied  for  benefits  totaling 
$104.60.  The  system  was  abolished  in  1908.  Secretary 
Miller  explains  that  this  was  on  account  of  the  flagrant 
abuses  of  the  benefit  by  the  members.  He  says  that  mem- 
bers living  in  Chicago  and  the  Middle  West  when  going  on 
a  vacation  trip  to  the  East  or  to  Europe  would  draw  the 
maximum  benefit.  In  short,  he  says,  the  benefit  was  used 
as  a  means  of  partly  defraying  the  expenses  of  members  on 
"  holiday  trips."«« 

At  the  Painters'  convention  in  1910  there  was  a  move- 

8*  Constitution,  1913,  art.  20,  sec.  i. 

^^  Letter  from  Secretary  Hugo  Miller  to  the  writer,  October  19, 
1915. 

86  Ibid. 


102        UNEMPLOYMENT  AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

ment  to  provide  traveling  members  with  a  loan  of  not  more 
than  $io,  but  the  proposed  plan  received  little  attention.*^ 
The  Bricklayers  and  Masons  in  1873*^  and  the  Plumbers  in 
1908*®  also  considered  the  advisability  of  establishing  a 
traveling  loan  system,  but  both  proposals  failed  of  adoption. 
At  the  Typographical  convention  in  1889  there  was  proposed 
a  traveling  loan  of  two  cents  per  mile,  but  it  was  defeated.®" 

In  those  unions  which  have  not  established  a  national  trav- 
eling loan  system,  some  of  the  local  unions  maintain  funds 
from  which  the  members  who  desire  to  travel  may  secure  a 
loan,  or  from  which  the  "traveler"  may  secure  a  gift  of  a  few 
dollars  to  aid  him  in  transferring  to  another  city.  If  a  mem- 
ber is  assured  of  a  job  or  has  fair  prospects  of  securing 
employment  in  another  city,  there  is  scarcely  a  local  union 
in  any  trade  which  will  not  advance  him  the  necessary  trav- 
eling expenses.  But  if  the  member  applying  for  a  loan  is 
a  "traveler,"  or  has  little  prospect  of  securing  employment 
in  another  city,  the  local  unions  do  not  always  grant  the 
loan.  Generally  the  amounts  of  the  loans  are  entered  in  the 
members'  dues-books  and  the  local  unions  in  which  the 
card  is  deposited  are  supposed  to  collect  the  loans  and  return 
them  to  the  local  unions  which  granted  them. 

The  systems  of  traveling  loans  and  benefits  have  failed 
largely  because  they  have  induced  needless  traveling  through 
the  administrative  inefficiency  of  the  local-union  secretaries. 
During  the  first  year's  operation  of  the  Cigar  Makers'  sys- 
tem, the  condition  of  trade  was  bad  all  over  the  country. 
The  members  were  told  that  there  were  no  jobs  to  be  had 
in  any  city,®^  but  since  the  traveler  could  secure  a  loan  from 
the  union  many  went  in  search  of  work.  A  traveling  loan 
system  is  socially  injurious  when  a  workman  can  secure  a 
loan  despite  the  fact  that  there  is  no  work  for  him  to  do  in 
the  locality  to  which  he  transfers.  The  union  works  a  hard- 
ship upon  its  members  when  it  grants  loans  without  first 

^'^  Proceedings,  1910,  p.  44. 

8^  Proceedings,  1873,  P-  27. 

89  Proceedings,  1908,  p.  91. 

80  Proceedings,  1889,  p.  124. 

'^  Cigar  Makers'  Journal,  July  10,  1881,  p.  i. 


UNION  AGENCIES  FOR  DISTRIBUTION  OF  WORKMEN 


103 


directing  members  to  places  where  employment  may  be  had. 
For  many  years  the  English  trade  unions  granted  traveling 
benefits  in  the  same  manner  as  do  the  American  unions,  that 
is,  without  ascertaining  whether  the  member  was  going  to 
improve  his  condition  by  transferring.  Within  recent  years, 
however,  the  English  system  has  undergone  a  considerable 
change,  and  traveling  loans  and  benefits  are  now  granted 
chiefly  to  those  for  whom  employment  has  been  found  in 
another  city.  Since  traveling  loans  are  now  granted  in  the 
United  States  chiefly  by  the  local  unions,  which  usually 
demand  that  the  applicant  shall  be  assured  of  employment 
before  the  loan  is  granted,  it  is  probably  true  that  the  trav- 
eling loan  is  now  somewhat  more  useful  than  before. 

Another  cause  of  the  failure  of  the  traveling  loan  systems 
was  the  granting  of  unauthorized  loans.  Although  the 
unions  had  generally  provided  apparently  stringent  rules 
for  the  administration  of  the  system,  many  unauthorized 
loans  were  granted.  Among  the  Cigar  Makers  this  abuse 
appeared  at  an  early  date.  In  1881  the  secretary  remarked 
that  he  knew  of  many  members  who  had  drawn  loans  and 
never  left  their  homes,  and  of  others  who  claimed  money 
for  a  distance  of  two  hundred  miles  and  did  not  go  farther 
than  fifty  miles. °^  The  local  union  secretaries  became  so 
careless  in  the  matter  of  granting  loans  that  the  union  made 
a  rule  that  secretaries  who  granted  unauthorized  loans  were 
to  be  fined  $5.  In  June,  1884,  twenty-one  secretaries  were 
fined.^'  The  loan  systems  of  the  German  Printers,  Granite 
Cutters,  Flint  Glass  Workers,  Leather  Workers  on  Horse 
Goods,  Machinists,  and  White  Rats  Actors  were  abolished 
primarily  on  account  of  the  abuses  in  granting  loans.  It 
seems  that  the  local-union  secretaries  granted  loans  in  prac- 
tically all  cases,  simply  trusting  that,  as  the  loan  was  entered 
in  the  members'  dues-books,  the  local  unions  to  which  they 
traveled  would  collect  the  money. 

Through  the  carelessness  of  the  secretaries  in  the  admin- 
istration of  the  systems  the  amounts  of  loans  which  were 

»2ibid.,  p.  I. 

93  Ibid.,  July,  1884,  p.  3. 


I04      UNEMPLOYMENT  AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

not  repaid  were  very  large  in  some  cases.  During  the 
thirty-five  years  existence  of  the  Cigar  Makers'  system, 
there  has  been  expended  $1,337,271,  or  an  average  of 
$38,207  each  year.  The  amount  loaned  per  capita  has 
varied  from  63  cents  in  1880  to  $3.48  in  1884,  and  has  aver- 
aged during  the  period  $1.50.  On  the  first  of  January, 
191 5,  there  were  outstanding  loans  to  the  amount  of  $109,- 
220.31.  President  Perkins  states  that  of  this  sum  about 
one-half  is  collectible.^*  Thus  the  cost  of  the  system  for 
thirty-five  years  has  been  about  $55,000,  an  average  annual 
per  capita  of  8  cents.  The  Flint  Glass  Workers  have  not 
expended  nearly  so  much  on  their  system  as  the  Cigar 
Makers.  During  the  ten  years  in  which  loans  were  granted, 
the  sum  of  $37,821  was  expended,  an  average  of  $3,782. 
The  amount  loaned  per  capita  varied  from  10  cents  in  1914 
to  73  cents  in  1907,  and  the  average  annual  per  capita  ex- 
penditure was  50  cents.  When  the  system  was  abandoned 
the  sum  of  $15,589  was  outstanding.  Since  only  a  small 
percentage  of  this  was  collectible,  the  annual  average  net 
cost  per  capita  was  $1.50,  or  twenty  times  the  cost  to  the 
Cigar  Makers.  The  Leather  Workers  on  Horse  Goods 
loaned  during  the  seven  years  in  which  the  system  was  in 
operation  the  sum  of  $17,063.  The  annual  per  capita  ex- 
penditure was  57  cents,  and  the  loans  outstanding  when  the 
system  was  abolished  amounted  to  $2,526.  Thus  the  an- 
nual average  per  capita  cost  was  less  than  9  cents,  or  about 
the  same  as  that  of  the  Cigar  Makers.  In  the  Typographia, 
despite  the  fact  that  the  benefit  was  a  gift,  the  cost  was  very 
small.  During  the  twenty-four  years'  operation  of  the 
benefit  the  sum  of  $8,376  was  expended.  The  average  an- 
nual per  capita  cost  varied  from  10  cents  in  1907  to  61 
cents  in  1885  and  only  averaged  31  cents  for  the  entire 
period. 

The  following  tables  give  the  cost  and  other  financial 
details  of  the  systems  in  the  Cigar  Makers,  Typographia, 
Flint  Glass  Workers,  and  Leather  Workers  on  Horse 
Goods. 

8*  Letter  to  the  writer,  October  19,  1915. 


UNION  AGENCIES  FOR  DISTRIBUTION  OF  WORKMEN       105 


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I06      UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 


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UNION  AGENCIES  FOR  DISTRIBUTION  OF  WORKMEN       107 

In  conclusion,  there  are  certain  definite  hindrances  to  the 
movement  of  union  workmen  from  one  city  to  another  which 
very  largely  nullify  in  some  unions  the  attempts  to  promote 
a  better  distribution  of  labor.  As  has  already  been  noted, 
many  imions  have  delegated  to  their  local  unions  the  power 
to  fix  the  amount  of  the  initiation  fee.  They  have  also 
provided  that  a  member  transferring  to  a  local  union  in 
which  the  initiation  fee  is  greater  than  in  the  city  from 
which  the  member  transferred  must  pay  the  difference  be- 
fore his  card  is  accepted.  Members  of  the  Carpenters®^ 
and  Painters^®  of  less  than  one  year's  standing  are  obliged 
to  pay  such  differences  when  they  travel  from  one  city  to 
another.  Since  some  local  unions  have  established  high 
initiation  fees  in  order  to  discourage  members  from  travel- 
ing, the  amount  to  be  paid  before  a  working  card  can  be 
obtained  is  sometimes  sufficient  to  deter  members  from 
transferring. 

Another  condition  which  operates  to  hinder  transference 
in  those  unions  which  have  only  local  systems  of  death  and 
sick  benefits,  is  that  a  member  transferring  from  one  local 
union  to  another  forfeits  all  claims  to  benefits  in  the  union 
from  which  he  goes  unless  he  pays  the  dues  and  assessments 
to  that  association,  and  does  not  become  a  beneficiary  in  the 
local  union  to  which  he  transfers  until  he  has  been  a  mem- 
ber for  a  certain  period,  generally  one  year. 

The  rules  governing  seniority  rights  and  privileges,  which 
were  discussed  in  a  previous  chapter,  have  a  marked  effect 
upon  the  transference  of  workmen.  Indeed,  in  some  unions 
this  system  has  made  traveling  a  negligible  factor.  Thus, 
President  Carter  of  the  Locomotive  Firemen  and  Engine- 
men  says  that  members  of  this  union  rarely  transfer  from 
one  place  to  another  or  from  one  company  to  another  imless 
they  are  among  the  last  on  the  list."'  A  member  who  has 
been  employed  by  a  railroad  for  several  years  has  usually 
secured  favorable  seniority  rights  and  when  laid  off  by  the 


9^  Constitution,  1913,  sec.  106. 

^•5  Constitution,  1913,  sec.  50. 

'^Letter  to  the  writer,  October  19,  1915- 


I08       UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN   TRADE   UNIONS 

company  on  account  of  depressed  business  conditions,  hesi- 
tates to  apply  for  employment  in  another  division  of  the 
road  or  to  another  company  because  his  seniority  rights 
would  not  be  recognized  and  he  would  be  compelled  to  start 
at  the  bottom  of  the  list,  thus  losing  all  he  had  gained  dur- 
ing his  former  employment.  Professor  Barnett  has  pointed 
out  how  the  priority  rights  of  the  Printers  have  operated  to 
decrease  mobility  of  labor  because  of  the  fact  that  the  most 
efficient  printer  can  not  transfer  his  priority  rights  from  one 
city  to  another  or  from  one  shop  to  another.^® 

The  "  permit "  system,  discussed  in  a  previous  chapter, 
was  shown  to  have  been  conceived  with  the  idea  of  controll- 
ing the  number  of  members  of  the  unions.  Although  this 
is  the  primary  reason  for  its  existence,  the  local  unions  have 
succeeded  in  utilizing  it  to  prevent  the  movement  of  mem- 
bers from  other  local  unions.  These  local  unions  when  in 
need  of  men  will  not  attempt  to  procure  experienced  work- 
men from  other  localities,  but  will  issue  permits  to  inex- 
perienced "  handy  men."  The  local  unions  appreciate  the 
fact  that  after  employment  slackens  they  can  revoke  the 
permits  of  the  helpers,  but  where  they  have  secured  union 
members  from  other  cities  they  probably  could  not  get  rid 
of  them  when  employment  became  scarce.  This  phase  of 
the  permit  system  has  come  into  prominence  during  the  past 
few  years.  The  Elevator  Constructors  at  their  convention  in 
1904  provided  that  the  local  unions  should  apply  to  other 
cities  for  workmen  before  issuing  permits,^^  but  it  appears 
that  this  rule  is  violated.  President  Murphy  recently  stated 
that  the  local  unions  favored  the  permit  system  principally 
because  they  could  provide  the  employers  with  sufficient 
men  without  procuring  members  from  other  cities.^""  The 
secretary  of  the  Brewery  Workers  has  said  that  the  local 
unions,  "due  to  their  selfishness,"  used  permit  workmen  in 
time  of  prosperity  rather  than  apply  for  men  from  the 
nearby  cities.^"^ 

88  Barnett,  The  Printers,  p.  241. 
38  Proceedings,  1904,  p.  7. 
lo"  Interview,  August,  1915. 
i°i  Proceedings,  1910,  p.  160. 


CHAPTER  V 
Distribution  of  Employment 

Unemployment  due  to  contraction  of  demand  may  be 
either  concentrated  upon  a  part  of  the  working  force,  or  be 
distributed  more  or  less  equally  among  the  entire  working 
force.  In  both  cases  the  aggregate  wages  will  be  the  same, 
and  the  total  amount  of  unemployment  will  not  have  been 
decreased.  The  difference  to  the  individual  workman,  how- 
ever, is  very  great.  It  is  obvious  that  if  an  employer  ex- 
pends two  dollars  for  labor,  it  would  be  socially  more  ad- 
vantageous to  divide  the  employment  between  two  other- 
wise unemployed  workmen  than  to  concentrate  it  upon  one 
of  them;  there  would  be  less  suffering  if  each  of  the  two 
had  one  dollar  than  if  one  man  possessed  the  two  dollars. 

It  must  be  realized,  however,  that  there  are  conditions  in 
particular  industries  which  tend  to  make  the  adoption  of 
such  a  policy  socially  injurious.  Thus,  the  longshoremen 
are  confronted  with  the  problem  of  having  the  work  dis- 
tributed among  too  great  a  number  of  workmen.  The  pol- 
icy has  also  been  disadvantageously  used  by  the  unions  in 
certain  trades  in  which  machinery  has  displaced  a  great 
number  of  workmen,  when  they  have  attempted  to  so  dis- 
tribute employment  as  to  maintain  the  original  working 
forces.^  In  such  cases  the  problem  is  different  and  the 
policy  of  equal  distribution  of  employment  is  open  to  criti- 
cism. But  where  the  contraction  of  demand  is  due  to  tem- 
porary fluctuations,  equal  distribution  of  employment  meets 
with  but  few  valid  objections. 

The  distribution  of  employment  is  accomplished  chiefly 
in  the  following  ways:  (i)  Reduction  of  the  working  hours 
per  day  or  week  of  the  entire  force  of  workmen.     (2)  Di- 


1  Typographical  Journal,  March,  1915,  p.  456. 

109 


no      UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

vision  of  the  working  force  into  groups,  each  working  the 
normal  day  or  week  in  rotation.  (3)  Reduction  of  the 
working  hours  to  a  certain  point,  after  which  the  smaller 
amount  of  employment  is  met  by  a  dismissal  of  workmen. 
In  some  trades  one  of  these  methods  exists,  while  in  others 
two  or  three  of  them  are  found  side  by  side.  It  will  be 
the  aim  in  this  chapter  to  inquire  as  to  the  extent  to  which 
these  various  methods  are  utilized  in  the  more  highly  or- 
ganized trades  and  the  influence  of  the  union  in  bringing 
about  their  adoption. 

The  first  method — the  working  of  short  time — exists  as 
a  general  custom  in  the  following  unions :  United  Mine 
Workers,  Western  Federation  of  Miners,  Ladies  Garment 
Workers,  United  Garment  Workers,  Tailors,  Cloth  Hat 
and  Cap  Makers,  Textile  Workers,  Glove  Makers,  Hatters, 
Potters,  Flint  Glass  Workers,  and  Iron,  Steel  and  Tin 
Workers.  It  is  not  to  be  inferred  that  short  time  is  not 
used  in  other  unions,  because,  as  will  be  pointed  out  later, 
this  method  exists,  to  a  certain  extent,  in  almost  every  trade. 
But  it  is  only  in  the  unions  named  that  the  practice  is  in 
force  throughout  the  jurisdiction  of  the  unions. 

The  United  Mine  Workers  and  the  Western  Federation 
of  Miners  have  probably  a  more  eiifective  system  of  sharing 
work  than  that  practised  in  any  other  union.  When  the 
operator  has  secured  a  force  of  miners  sufficient  to  prop- 
erly work  his  mine  in  the  busy  season,  he  is  rarely  allowed 
to  reduce  this  number  on  account  of  a  slackened  demand 
for  coal.  He  is  obliged  to  give  to  every  workman  an  equal 
number  of  hours'  work  in  the  mine.  As  the  dull  season 
approaches,  he  reduces  the  number  of  days  to  be  worked 
each  week.  When  the  demand  for  coal  is  not  sufficient  to 
justify  the  working  of  a  full  day,  then  only  a  certain  num- 
ber of  hours  are  worked.  In  any  event,  each  workman 
must  be  given  the  same  number  of  hours  of  employment. 
In  consequence  of  these  demands  of  the  union  and  of  the 
seasonal  character  of  the  industry,  the  mines  are  idle  dur- 
ing many  days  of  the  year.     In  the  period  1900-1910  the 


DISTRIBUTION    OF   EMPLOYMENT  III 

number  of  idle  days  in  the  anthracite  fields  varied  from  71 
in  1910  to  184  in  1902,  and  in  the  bituminous  fields  from 
66  in  1907  to  107  in  1908.-  Although  this  system  was  gen- 
erally in  force  before  the  miners  became  strongly  organized, 
and  is  at  present  the  rule  in  a  number  of  non-union  mines, 
the  foremen  under  non-union  conditions  were  always  at  lib- 
erty to  discharge  a  man  when  a  reduction  of  the  working 
force  was  desired.  The  union  now  passes  judgment  upon 
discharges,  and  the  employer  must  prove  that  other  reasons 
than  the  desire  to  reduce  the  working  force  are  the  cause  of 
the  discharge. 

Not  only  does  the  union  demand  an  equal  distribution  of 
working  time,  but  "  every  mine  worker  shall  be  given  work 
in  his  turn  when  applying  for  same."^  Obviously,  the  fore- 
man might  allow  every  man  to  descend  into  the  mine,  but 
could  place  them  in  such  a  position  that  some  w^ould  secure 
only  a  few  cars  each  day.  There  have  been  instances  where 
a  miner  stayed  in  the  mine  all  day  and  never  got  a  pit  car 
to  load.  The  rule  was  devised  not  to  equalize  the  miners' 
earnings  or  to  limit  the  output  but  to  give  every  man  an 
equal  opportunity  to  work.  In  mines  where  both  machine 
and  pick  miners  are  used  the  union  has  obtained  a  rule  that 
whenever  the  machines  are  operated  and  the  pick  miners 
not  employed,  "  such  turn  shall  be  given  that  will,  as  nearly 
as  possible,  equalize  the  earning  capacity  of  the  machine 
loaders  and  the  pick  miners."* 

Where  an  operator  closes  down  one  of  his  mines  and 
works  full  time  in  another,  the  union  has  not  attempted  to 
enforce  any  arrangement  by  which  those  unemployed 
through  the  closing  of  one  mine  may  share  in  the  working 
of  the  other ;  but  there  has  grown  up  in  many  mining  com- 
munities a  custom  under  which  the  work  is  divided.  John 
Mitchell  says  of  this  custom:   "This  system  of  dividing 

~  United  States  Geological  Survey :  Mineral  Resources  of  the 
United  States,  vol.  2,  1910,  p.  42. 

3  1913  Agreement,  Interstate  Movement  (Proceedings  of  the 
United  Mine  Workers,  1914,  p.  44)- 

4  Machine  Scale  in  Arkansas  and  Oklahoma,  1912,  sec.  7,  in  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  United  Mine  Workers,  1914,  p.  7i- 


112       UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

employment  is  quite  general  in  mining  communities.  If  an 
employer  closes  down  one  of  his  mines  and  continues  others 
in  operation,  the  men  in  the  mine  that  is  working  will  invite 
their  fellow  unionists  where  work  has  been  stopped  to  share 
their  employment  with  them.  That  is  to  say,  the  men  who 
retain  their  jobs  will  remain  at  home  three  days  each  week, 
allowing  the  men  out  of  employment  to  take  their  places 
for  the  remaining  three  days."^ 

These  various  rules  have  resulted  in  such  a  thorough- 
going distribution  of  employment  that  it  would  seem  as 
though  nothing  could  better  the  distribution  short  of  an  abso- 
lute limitation  on  daily  earnings.  It  has  been  suggested  that 
these  regulations  have  had  a  tendency  to  retain  so  great  a 
number  of  workmen  in  the  industry  that  the  earnings  are 
not  sufficient  for  proper  living  conditions.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  conditions  surrounding  the  industry  are  such  that 
a  greater  number  of  workmen  are  needed  at  certain  seasons. 
In  the  anthracite  fields,  production  is  more  nearly  regular 
throughout  the  year  in  consequence  of  a  sliding  scale  of 
prices  to  the  consumer,  while  in  the  bituminous  fields  the 
coal  can  only  be  mined  as  needed,  because  the  atmospheric 
eftects  upon  this  grade  of  coal  are  such  that  for  domestic 
purposes  it  must  be  consumed  shortly  after  it  is  mined. 
Consequently,  in  the  winter  months  there  is  needed  a  rela- 
tively larger  force  of  bituminous  than  of  anthracite  miners. 

The  most  significant  case  in  which  the  policy  of  the  unions 
towards  the  question  at  issue  is  revealed  is  in  the  garment 
industry.  Since  the  signing  of  the  agreement  in  191 1  be- 
tween the  Ladies  Garment  Workers  and  the  employers  of 
New  York,  the  distribution  of  employment  has  been  one  of 
the  chief  contentions  between  the  union  and  the  employers' 
association.  During  the  first  nine  months  of  the  operation 
of  the  Protocol  186  of  the  998  grievances  submitted  to  the 
Board  of  Grievances  were  alleged  discriminations  in  the 
distribution  of  work.  From  September  to  December,  1911, 
53  of  the  295  grievances  were  of  the  same  character.^ 

^  The  Bridgemen's  Magazine,  January,  1910,  p.  12. 
6  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor,  No.  98,  p.  230. 


DISTRIBUTION    OF   EMPLOYMENT  II3 

Previous  to  1911,  when  the  workmen  were  poorly  organ- 
ized, the  employer  allowed  the  foreman  in  each  department 
to  distribute  the  work  as  best  suited  him.  In  one  factory, 
the  question  of  race  decided  who  was  to  get  the  lion's  share 
of  the  work ;  in  another,  it  was  a  question  of  favoritism  or, 
perhaps,  a  bribe  to  the  foreman.  Some  piece  workers  were 
allowed  to  work  the  entire  day  and  far  into  the  night,  while 
others,  who  were  reporting  each  day  to  the  factory,  were 
refused  any  employment.  To  remedy  these  conditions,  the 
Ladies  Garment  Workers  Union  insisted  in  the  conferences 
preliminary  to  the  signing  of  the  Protocol  upon  a  more 
equitable  distribution  of  employment,  and  secured  a  rule 
which  requires  the  employer  to  divide  employment,  as  far 
as  possible,  among  all  regular  piece  and  time  workers. 

The  distribution  takes  the  form  of  either  short  time  or 
rotation  of  the  workers.  The  manufacturers  do  not  object 
strenuously  to  the  application  of  this  rule  to  piece  workers, 
but  have,  by  many  subterfuges,  attempted  to  evade  its  ap- 
plication to  time  workers.  The  difficulty  has  been  the  in- 
terpretation of  the  term  "  regular  workmen."  The  union 
contends  that  this  includes  all  who  have  been  working  for 
the  employer,  while  the  manufacturers  claim  that  it  only 
includes  those  who  are  employed  during  the  slack  seasons 
and  does  not  include  those  taken  on  during  the  rush  periods. 
In  December,  1914,  this  question  was  submitted  to  the  Board 
of  Arbitration  in  the  Cloak,  Suit  and  Skirt  Industry  of  New 
York.  The  Chairman,  Mr.  Louis  D.  Brandeis,  gave  the 
following  decision :  "  Equal  division  of  work  is  to  be  re- 
garded as  desirable  and  as  necessary  in  this  industry ;  for  it 
must  be  acknowledged  that  it  should  be  made  possible  for 
the  people  called  into  the  industry,  and  who  are  regularly 
employed  therein,  to  earn  a  reasonable  livelihood."  But  as 
to  what  constituted  a  "  regular "  workman,  the  Board  re- 
fused to  give  an  interpretation,  merely  saying  that  this  ques- 
tion "  must  be  left  to  the  judgment  of  men  familiar  with 
the  particular  facts,  because  the  facts  will  vary  in  par- 
8 


114      UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN   TRADE   UNIONS 

ticular  cases."^  Aside  from  this  disputed  question,  the  fifty 
thousand  union  ladies  garment  workers  of  New  York  are 
working  under  rules  guaranteeing  them  a  fairly  equal  dis- 
tribution of  employment.  In  the  Boston  Protocol  of  191 3,* 
and  in  the  Philadelphia  Protocol  of  1914,''  the  union  secured 
provisions  for  an  equal  distribution  of  work  among  its 
members.  In  other  cities  both  the  agreements  with  the  em- 
ployers' associations  and  with  individual  manufacturers  pro- 
vide for  an  equal  division  of  employment. 

The  United  Garment  Workers  and  the  Tailors  have  in- 
sisted at  all  times  upon  an  equal  distribution  of  work  among 
their  members,  but  they  have  not  met  with  the  same  success 
as  the  Ladies  Garment  Workers,  doubtless  on  account  of 
the  lack  of  general  agreements  with  employers'  associations. 
In  their  agreements  with  individual  manufacturers,  these 
unions  have  generally  obtained  an  equal  distribution  of  em- 
ployment among  the  regular  workmen ;  but  with  regard 
to  what  constitutes  a  regular  employee,  and  as  to  when  the 
workmen  may  be  discharged  on  account  of  the  reorganiza- 
tion of  the  factory,  the  unions  and  the  employers  have  not 
been  able  to  agree.  Differences  on  these  points  have  led  to 
many  strikes  in  the  clothing  industry.  In  Baltimore,  in  Au- 
gust, 191 2,  three  hundred  men  went  on  strike  because  the 
firm  insisted  upon  laying  off  a  pocket  maker  instead  of  dis- 
tributing the  work  among  the  fourteen  members  in  this  par- 
ticular department.  In  1914  another  Baltimore  employer 
attempted  to  discharge  a  certain  number  of  men  on  account 
of  "  a  reorganization  of  the  factory."  In  this  case  the  union 
asked  for  a  disitribution  of  the  work,  which  the  employers 
refused  and  the  consequence  was  a  strike  involving  two 
thousand  men.  Wherever  possible,  the  unions  have  at- 
tempted to  induce  the  employers  to  work  short  time  instead 
of  discharging  a  portion  of  the  working  force,  and  they  have 
recently  secured  the  acceptance  of  this  policy  by  many 
employers. 

"Ladies  Garment  Worker,  February,  1915,  pp.  11-14. 
*  Ibid.,  May,  1913,  p.  17. 
^  Ibid.,  October,  1914,  p.  12. 


DISTRIBUTION   OF   EMPLOYMENT  II5 

The  Cloth  Hat  and  Cap  Makers  have  always  insisted 
upon  the  employment  in  the  dull  seasons  of  all  members  who 
were  in  the  working  force  in  the  busy  season.  The  union 
has  secured  the  establishment  of  this  policy  in  all  shops 
w^here  the  workmen  are  paid  piece  wages,  but  has  been  un- 
able to  enforce  it  in  the  shops  where  time  wages  are  paid.^° 
The  Textile  Workers  Union  recently  demanded  the  incor- 
poration in  their  agreements  with  the  manufacturers  of  an 
article  providing  for  equal  distribution  of  employment. 
There  was  but  little  opposition,  and  the  movement  has  been 
generally  successful.  Even  in  non-union  establishments  the 
manufacturers  have  followed  this  policy  for  many  years, 
although  they  do  not  always  include  the  entire  working 
force,  and  sometimes  leave  certain  employees  out  of  the  dis- 
tribution. 

The  Glove  Makers,  in  all  of  their  agreements  with  the 
employers,  have  secured  provision  for  an  equal  distribution 
of  employment  in  the  dull  seasons.  The  employers  are  re- 
quired to  give  to  each  piece  worker  not  the  same  number  of 
pieces  but  work  which  will  yield  equal  wages.^^  While  there 
is  no  written  agreement  between  the  Hatters  and  their  em- 
ployers as  to  the  distribution  of  work  in  slack  periods,  there 
is,  as  President  Lawlor  terms  it,  "  a  gentleman's  agreement " 
that  short  time  will  be  worked  in  the  dull  months,  and  no 
employee  may  be  laid  off  on  account  of  such  dullness.^^ 
One  of  the  chief  contentions  in  the  great  Danbury  lockout 
of  1890  was  over  the  distribution  of  work.  The  manu- 
facturers claimed  that  they  should  be  allowed  to  regulate 
the  distribution  of  employment,  while  the  union  claimed  an 
equal  division  of  work.^^  Since  that  time,  with  but  few  ex- 
ceptions, the  policy  of  equal  distribution  of  employment 
among  the  entire  working  force  has  been  accepted  in  full  by 
the  employers. 

10  Interview  with  Secretary  Zuckerman,  August,  1915. 

11  Interview  with  Secretary  Christman,  August,  1915. 

12  Interview,  August,  1915. 

13  The  Sixth  Annual  Report  of  the  Connecticut  Bureau  of  Labor 
Statistics,  Part  V,  p.  191. 


Il6      UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

If  the  policy  of  equal  distribution  of  employment  is  to  be 
generally  enforced  in  a  trade,  there  is  need  for  a  strong 
organization  of  employers  to  deal  with  that  of  the  workmen. 
In  every  trade  there  are  certain  employers  who  will  accede 
to  the  demands  of  the  union  for  the  distribution  of  work ; 
but  there  are  also  others  who,  although  they  may  agree  to 
the  standard  rate,  the  normal  day,  and  union  working  condi- 
tions, will  not  readily  relinquish  their  right  to  hire  and  dis- 
charge as  they  see  fit.  Consequently,  there  is  a  greater 
likelihood  of  finding  the  system  of  equal  distribution  of  em- 
ployment widely  enforced  in  those  trades  where  the  associa- 
tions of  employers  and  workmen  hold  conferences  and  make 
agreements  for  the  entire  trade.  The  most  striking  ex- 
amples of  systems  of  this  kind  are  in  the  pottery  and  glass 
industries. 

The  National  Brotherhood  of  Operative  Potters  for  many 
years  unsuccessfully  attempted  to  obtain  the  consent  of  the 
United  States  Potters'  Association — the  manufacturers  of 
general  ware — to  incorporating  in  the  agreements  a  rule 
requiring  equal  distribution  of  work  among  all  employees. 
At  the  conference  in  1911  the  manufacturers  agreed  to  adopt 
this  rule  and  to  work  short  time  in  the  slack  seasons,  instead 
of  continuing  the  practice  of  concentrating  the  work  upon 
those  favored  by  the  foreman.^*  The  union  also  secured 
from  the  Sanitary  Manufacturing  Potters'  Association  at 
the  conference  in  1912  a  rule  similar  to  that  in  force  in  the 
general  ware  department,  except  that  the  work  was  to  be 
divided  equally  among  workmen  making  the  same  class  of 
ware.^^  For  instance,  if  a  manufacturer  were  to  close  en- 
tirely the  lavatory  ware  department  of  his  factory  and  retain 
jet  makers  at  full  time,  the  pressers  in  the  former  depart- 
ment would  not  share  in  the  work.  To  this  the  union 
strongly  objected,  maintaining  that  as  "the  pressers  are  at 

1*  Agreement  between  the  United  States  Potters'  Association  and 
the  National  Brotherhood  of  Operative  Potters,  Atlantic  City,  New 
Jersey,  191 1,  sec.  11. 

^5  Agreement  between  the  Sanitary  Manufacturing  Potters'  Asso- 
ciation and  the  National  Brotherhood  of  Operative  Potters,  1912, 
p.  I. 


DISTRIBUTION    OF   EMPLOYMENT  II7 

all  times  expected  and,  in  fact,  compelled  to  make  any  kind 
of  articles  given  them,"  the  work  of  the  entire  plant  should 
be  equally  divided  among  all  those  competent  to  do  it.^^ ' 
The  Potters  on  several  occasions  have  struck  to  enforce  the 
rule  requiring  an  equal  distribution  of  work.  For  example, 
in  March,  1914,  the  pressers  in  one  of  the  Trenton  potteries 
struck  because  several  pressers  had  been  discharged  by  the 
firm  on  the  ground  that  the  force  was  larger  than  was 
needed.^^  In  April  of  the  same  year  the  pressers  in  a  pottery 
at  Mannington,  West  Virginia,  went  on  strike  for  reasons 
connected  with  the  rule.^^ 

In  the  Flint  Glass  Workers'  Union  the  necessity  for  some 
rule  under  which  its  members  might  be  guaranteed  more 
continuous  employment  was  early  recognized.  Glass  fac- 
tories do  not  produce  at  maximum  capacity  during  more 
than  six  or  eight  months  even  in  the  most  prosperous  years. 
In  1897  President  Smith  said  that  the  existing  custom  was 
for  the  employers  to  lay  ofif  a  certain  number  of  their  work- 
men when  trade  slackened,  and  to  retain  on  full  time  those 
who  stood  highest  in  the  estimation  of  the  foreman.  Almost 
invariably  the  slow  workers,  or  those  who  "  had  suggested 
that  the  employees  have  rights  that  should  be  respected," 
were  among  those  laid  off.  This  custom,  in  the  opinion  of 
the  president,  was  so  strongly  entrenched  in  the  trade  by 
long  usage  that  there  was  great  doubt  as  to  the  possibility 
of  establishing  any  better  system.^^  However,  the  conven- 
tion of  that  year  proposed  that  all  departments  should 
attempt  to  induce  the  employers  to  distribute  fairly  the 
work.^°  Since  then  each  of  the  sixteen  departments  of  the 
industry,  at  their  conferences  with  the  employers,  have  ob- 
tained rules  providing  for  an  equal  distribution  of  work. 
Most  of  the  agreements  provide  for  distribution  among  all 
who  are  found  competent,  regardless  of  the  class  of  work 


1"  Proceedings,  1914,  pp.  76-77. 

17  Potters'  Herald,  March  26,  1914,  p.  2. 

18  Ibid.,  April  23,  IQ14. 

i»  Proceedings,  1897,  pp.  57-58. 
20  Ibid.,  1897,  p.  175. 


Il8      UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE    UNIONS 

at  which  they  were  formerly  employed.  The  cutters  and 
mould  makers,  however,  have  less  stringent  rules.  In  the 
former  department,  the  employer  is  allowed  in  a  period  of 
slackness  to  lay  ofif  the  men  engaged  during  a  rush  period, 
provided  such  employment  was  for  less  than  four  weeks.-'- 
In  the  Mould  Making  Department  an  employer  is  required 
to  share  the  work  among  all  the  working  force  except  work- 
men who  have  not  held  their  positions  for  six  months.^^ 

The  rule  has  led  to  many  disputes  between  the  employers 
and  the  union,  and  even  between  different  factions  in  the 
union.  The  controversies  became  so  numerous  that  at  the 
conference  in  191 1  between  the  manufacturers  and  the  union 
the  interpretation  of  the  rule  was  brought  up  for  settlement. 
The  conclusion  w^hich  w^as  reached  in  conference  was  re- 
jected on  reference  by  both  the  manufacturers  and  the 
union.  The  only  provision  which  was  accepted  by  both 
parties  was  that  "  whenever  the  necessity  for  a  division  of 
time  arises,  the  factory  committee  and  the  management  shall 
agree  on  a  satisfactory  division."^" 

In  the  iron  and  steel  industries,  the  practice  of  working 
short  time  in  periods  of  depression  has  become  a  generally 
accepted  policy  in  many  union  and  non-union  mills.  How- 
ever, the  manufacturers  have  frequently  used  other  means 
of  curtailing  production,  such  as  running  single  instead  of 
double  turn,  and  of  closing  a  certain  number  of  their  fur- 
naces. The  Iron,  Steel  and  Tin  Workers'  Union  adopted 
in  1886  the  following  rule  to  cover  such  cases :  "  Should 
any  department  of  a  mill  be  stopped  running  single  or  double 
turn,  through  over-production,  or  other  causes,  the  work 
shall  be  equally  divided,  except  where  a  furnace  is  out  for 
repairs."^*  The  union  has  also  provided  that  any  mill, 
running  double  or  triple  turns  during  three  or  more  months 
of  the  year,  shall  be  considered  a  double  turn  mill,  and  in 
the  event  of  such  a  mill  going  on  single  time,  the  work  shall 

21  Proceedings,  1913,  p.  216. 

22  Proceedings,  1912,  p.  167. 
2'  Proceedings,  1912,  p.  97. 
2*  Proceedings,  1886,  p.  1851. 


DISTRIBUTION    OF   EMPLOYMENT  II9 

be  divided  equally  among  the  different  crews."  For  many 
years,  through  the  influence  of  the  members  who  were  hold- 
ing regular  positions,  this  rule  was  not  obeyed  by  many  of 
the  local  lodges.  There  was  also  disagreement  as  to  the 
proper  method  of  dividing  the  work.  Various  plans  were 
adopted.  In  some  mills  the  men  worked  in  rotation,  while 
in  others  three  and  four  shifts  were  worked.  In  the  period 
of  depression  from  1893  to  1896  the  mills  worked  short  time, 
but  did  not  employ  the  men  laid  off  on  account  of  the  closing 
of  certain  furnaces.  President  Garland  of  the  Amalga- 
mated Association  advocated  the  adoption  of  a  three-shift 
system  and  it  appears  that  this  plan  was  put  into  effect  in 
many  mills,  for  the  president  reported  to  the  convention  in 
1898  that  seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  members  were  then 
working  under  the  three-shift  system.^^  At  the  convention 
of  1900  several  lodges  asked  for  the  privilege  of  working 
four  shifts  in  order  to  help  the  great  number  of  unemployed, 
but  they  were  advised  to  divide  the  work  in  some  other 
manner.^'^  During  1901  many  lodges  reported  that  they  had 
formed  floating  crews  from  those  who  had  worked  at 
furnaces  which  were  then  idle,  and  allowed  them  to  work  in 
rotation  with  the  regular  crews.^^  This  method  was  sug- 
gested to  the  American  Tinplate  Company  by  President 
Garland  when  he  went  to  New  York  in  1901  to  plead  the 
cause  of  the  unemployed.^*  At  present  the  manufacturers 
and  the  union  have  agreed  that,  in  all  cases,  the  work  shall  be 
distributed  among  all  of  the  workmen,  except  those  who 
have  not  been  members  of  the  union  for  thirty  days. 

The  general  trade  agreement  between  the  Glass  Bottle 
Blowers  and  the  employers  provides  for  the  employment  of 
idle  men  by  changing  the  factory  from  a  two  to  a  three 
shift  system  in  dull  seasons.  When  this  is  not  practicable, 
the  shop  committee  and  the  manufacturer  are  to  arrange 

25  Constitution,  1913,  art.  17,  sec.  6. 

26  Proceedings,  1898,  p.  S418. 
^"^  Proceedings,  1900,  p.  5839. 

28  Amalgamated  Journal,  February  14,  1901,  p.  18. 
2»  Ibid.,  p.  20. 


120      UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN   TRADE   UNIONS 

some  Other  method  for  an  equal  division  of  employment 
among  the  workmen.^''  In  consequence  of  the  introduction 
of  automatic  machinery,  the  three-shift  system  has  been 
widely  established  as  the  normal  arrangement  throughout 
the  year.  Where  this  is  the  case  the  distribution  of  work  on 
account  of  seasonal  variations  must  be  accomplished  in  some 
other  manner.  Another  rule  agreed  to  by  the  manufacturers 
provided  that  when  a  majority  of  blowers  in  a  factory  agree 
to  do  so,  the  work  may  be  divided  among  all.  It  appears, 
however,  that  this  rule  is  enforced  in  only  a  small  part  of 
the  factories.  President  Hayes  in  1908  referred  to  several 
instances  in  which  the  local  unions  had  asked  for  an  equal 
distribution  of  employment  and  the  employers  had  acceded 
to  their  request,  but  many  of  the  local  unions  did  not  avail 
themselves  of  this  opportunity.^^  At  the  convention  in  1914 
President  Hayes  urged  the  members  to  pay  more  attention 
to  this  provision,^^  but  it  appeared  that  some  of  the  members 
were  not  in  favor  of  dividing  work  because  of  its  tendency 
to  keep  in  the  trade  more  men  than  necessary. 

As  stated  above,  there  are  very  few  trades  outside  of  the 
building  trades,'^  in  which  short  time  is  not  worked  in  par- 
ticular cases.  The  practice  lis  found  among  the  Stove 
Mounters,  Paper  Makers,  Coopers,  Leather  Workers  on 
Horse  Goods,  Metal  Polishers,  Lithographers,  Boot  and 
Shoe  Workers,  Photo-Engravers,  Lace  Operatives,  Laimdry 
Workers,  in  the  stove  branch  of  the  Iron  Molders,  and  to 
a  less  extent,  among  the  Bakers,  Bookbinders,  Pattern 
Makers,  Commercial  Telegraphers,  and  the  Street  Railway 
Employees. 

The  second  method  by  which  employment  is  distributed — 
the  system  of  rotation — is  less  prevalent  than  the  working 

30  Wage  Scale  and  Working  Rules,  Glass  Vial  and  Bottle  List,  for 
the  Blast  of  1913-1914,  sec.  14,  p.  ^(i. 

31  Proceedings,  1908,  p.  54. 

32  Proceedings,  1914,  p.  109. 

33  An  exception  in  the  building  trades  appears  to  be  the  Granite 
Cutters.  On  several  occasions  some  of  the  local  unions  have  pro- 
vided for  a  temporary  shortening  of  the  working  day  from  eight  to 
six  hours,  in  order  to  provide  work  for  the  unemployed.  For  ex- 
ample, see  Granite  Cutters'  Journal,  April,  1915,  p.  4. 


DISTRIBUTION    OF   EMPLOYMENT  121 

of  short  time.  When  the  charges  for  lighting,  heating, 
superintendence,  etc.,  are  fairly  constant  whether  the  em- 
ployer is  working  his  full  force  or  only  a  portion  of  it,  it  is 
obvious  that  it  would  be  a  considerable  saving  were  he  to 
operate  his  plant  on  part  time  with  the  full  force,  instead  of 
operating  full  time  with  a  portion  of  the  force.  On  the 
other  hand,  when  conditions  in  the  industry  are  such  that  it 
is  necessary  to  maintain  an  average  daily  output  in  the  dull 
season,  or  when  it  is  economical  to  keep  a  portion  of  the 
machinery  in  operation  continuously,  the  method  of  rota- 
tion is  more  advantageous  to  the  employer  than  the  working 
of  short  time. 

These  considerations  are  well  illustrated  in  the  case  of 
the  Brewery  Workers.  Here  the  manufacturers  desire  the 
uninterrupted  operation  of  their  breweries  on  account  of  con- 
ditions growing  out  of  the  methods  of  brewing  and  out  of 
the  regularity  of  sales  of  their  product.  For  many  years 
prior  to  the  formation  of  a  strong  organization  among  the 
brewery  workers,  the  employers  generally  met  the  slack 
season  by  a  dismissal  of  a  part  of  their  working  forces.  In- 
asmuch as  this  frequently  resulted  in  the  laying  off  of  one 
half  of  the  force,  the  organized  workers  demanded  a  more 
equitable  distribution  of  employment  during  the  winter 
months.  By  1901  the  demands  of  the  union  had  resulted 
in  the  incorporation  in  the  majority  of  agreements  with  the 
employers  of  a  rule  requiring  an  equal  distribution  of  work 
among  the  entire  working  force  in  the  slack  season.  The 
secretary  reported  to  the  convention  in  1901  that  "almost 
every  contract  now  contains  a  clause  providing  that  during 
the  slack  times  in  winter,  comrades  shall  be  laid  off  alter- 
nately for  a  week  at  a  time.^*  Employers  of  large  brew- 
eries have  only  occasionally  objected  to  this  method  of  meet- 
ing seasonal  fluctuations,  but  in  small  breweries  the  union 
has  always  had  to  struggle  for  the  acceptance  of  the  rule. 
There  are  usually  only  a  few  thoroughly  competent  brewers 
in  a  small  brewery,  and  their  work  is  divided  in  such  a  man- 

3*  Proceedings,  1901,  p.  49, 


122       UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

ner  that  when  some  of  them  are  laid  off  the  efficiency  of 
the  working  force  is  greatly  impaired.  To  meet  this  condi- 
tion, the  union  has  conceded  that  short  time  may  be  worked 
in  those  breweries  where  rotation  is  impracticable.  Even 
where  the  system  of  rotation  is  practised,  the  union  has  in- 
sisted on  a  reduction  in  working  hours  from  nine  during 
the  busy  season  to  eight  in  the  winter,  and  has  prohibited 
the  working  of  any  overtime  when  the  men  are  working 
short  time  or  in  rotation. 

The  adoption  of  these  methods  of  meeting  seasonal  fluc- 
tuations in  the  brewery  industry  is  due  to  the  constant 
struggle  of  the  union.  As  the  general  secretary  has  said, 
"the  master  brewers  have  worked  tooth  and  nail  to  eradi- 
cate the  lay-off  clauses  in  the  agreements. "^^  Recently  the 
members  of  the  union  in  Washington,  D.  C,  and  Wilming- 
ton, Delaware,  have  been  locked  out  because  of  their  in- 
sistence upon  an  equal  distribution  of  employment.  In 
Washington  the  employers  wished  to  discharge  a  certain 
percentage  of  the  workmen  and  to  divide  the  employment 
among  the  remaining  working  force ;  but  the  union  refused 
to  accede  to  anything  except  a  division  of  the  work  among 
the  original  working  forces.^®  Secretary  Proebstle  of  the 
Brewery  Workers  says  that  the  union  attaches  the  same  im- 
portance to  the  question  of  distribution  of  employment  as  it 
does  to  wages  and  hours,  for  without  the  maintenance  of 
this  policy,  the  workmen  would  be  unable  to  provide  proper 
living  conditions. ^^ 

The  Amalgamated  Glass  Workers'  Union  compels  its  sub- 
ordinate local  unions  to  insert  in  their  agreements  with  the 
employers  a  clause  providing  for  an  equal  distribution  of 
work  in  the  slack  season.^®  This  generally  takes  the  form 
of  rotation,  although  in  several  cases,  as  for  example,  in 
the  1 914  agreement  with  the  employers  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 

35  Reports  of  the  General  Secretary-Treasurer  in  the  Proceedings, 

1903.  p.  157- 

3<5  For  a  complete  description  of  the  lockout,  see  Brauerei-Arbeiter 
Zeitung,  April,  1915. 

^'^  Interview,  August,  191 5. 

38  Constitution,  1913,  sec.  151. 


DISTRIBUTION    OF    EMPLOYMENT  123 

it  is  provided  that  "  in  dull  times  the  working  hours  shall  be 
reduced  so  as  to  give  each  member  employed  an  equal 
amount  of  working  time."^^  Several  of  the  unions  char- 
tered by  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  such  as  the 
Crown  Cork  and  Seal  Operatives,  and  the  Watch  Case 
Engravers,  provide  for  rotation  in  the  dull  seasons,  and,  as 
has  been  pointed  out  above,  the  Ladies'  Garment  Workers, 
the  Iron,  Steel  and  Tin  Workers,  the  Glass  Bottle  Blowers, 
and  the  Flint  Glass  Workers  combine  the  method  of  rota- 
tion and  the  method  of  short-time. 

The  third  method  by  which  distribution  of  employment 
is  accomplished — short  time  to  meet  a  slight  fluctuation,  but 
dismissal  of  workmen  to  meet  a  longer  fluctuation — is  very 
common.  It  is  obvious  that  this  method  will  be  preferred 
in  those  trades  in  which  it  is  particularly  desirable  to  retain 
the  most  valuable  workmen.  In  the  mechanical  depart- 
ments of  the  railroads  and,  in  fact,  in  the  majority  of  shops 
where  members  of  the  Boilermakers,  Machinists,  Iron 
Holders,  Blacksmiths,  Metal  Polishers,  Sheet  Metal  Work- 
ers, and  Pattern  Makers  are  employed,  this  method  is  in 
general  practice.  A  typical  agreement  is  that  between  the 
Rock  Island  Federated  Trades  and  the  Chicago,  Rock  Is- 
land and  Pacific  Railway,  as  follows :  "  When  reducing  ex- 
penses, the  full  force  of  men  will  be  retained,  and  reduction 
made  in  hours  until  the  number  of  hours  shall  have  reached 
forty  per  week ;  but  any  further  reduction  will  be  made  by 
laying  off  men,  seniority  and  ability  to  govern,"^"  Occa- 
sionally the  reverse  of  this  method  is  employed ;  that  is,  a 
slight  fluctuation  is  met  by  a  dismissal  of  workmen,  while 
any  further  fluctuation  is  provided  for  by  the  working  of 
short  time.  This  is  less  likely  to  meet  the  approval  of  the 
workmen,  but  is  more  advantageous  to  the  employers  in  that 
they  are  enabled  to  dismiss  the  less  efficient  at  the  first 
opportunity. 

The  "five-day"  rule  of  some  of  the  local  unions  of  the 


38  Agreement  between  the  Cincinnati,   Ohio,   local  union  of  the 
Amalgamated  Glass  Workers  and  the  employers.  1914,  art.  6,  sec.  i. 
*"  Boilermakers'  Journal,  February,  1912,  p.  107. 


124      UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

Typographical  Union  is  an  interesting  example  of  this 
method.  This  rule  has  grown  out  of  the  "six-day-law" 
which  was  discussed  in  a  previous  chapter.  Its  operation 
is  limited  to  seasonal  fluctuations  and  periods  of  general 
industrial  depression.  Under  the  rule,  those  who  are  regu- 
larly employed  are  obliged  to  give  to  the  unemployed  the 
opportunity  to  work  one  day  each  week,  the  regular  force 
being  limited  to  five  days  employment.  The  employers  have 
strenuously  objected  to  this  rule  and  a  number  of  local 
unions  that  have  adopted  it  in  periods  of  unemployment 
have  been  forced  to  abandon  it,  either  because  the  unem- 
ployed were  attracted  from  other  cities,  or  because  of  the 
employers'  objections.*^  When  on  December  27,  1914,  the 
180  printers  employed  in  the  three  newspaper  plants  of  New 
Orleans  were  locked  out,  one  of  the  important  contentions 
was  that  the  local  union  had  passed  a  rule  compelling  its 
members  to  share  all  work  beyond  forty  hours  per  week 
with  the  unemployed.*-  The  employers  declared  that  the 
local  union  had  abrogated  the  contract  existing  between  the 
employers  and  the  union  "  by  passing  and  arbitrarily  putting 
into  effect  a  five-day  law  in  our  several  offices,"  thus  "  dis- 
turbing the  working  conditions  therein  at  an  increase  of 
expense  to  the  publishers  and  a  decrease  of  the  efficiency  of 
their  respective  composing  rooms. "*^  The  five-day  rule  is 
found  to  a  limited  extent  in  some  other  unions,  as  for  in- 
stance, in  many  local  unions  of  the  Bakers  during  the  dull 
seasons. 

Despite  the  wide  prevalence  of  systems  of  distribution, 
the  commonest  means  of  reducing  the  production  of  the 
working  force  is  to  discharge  part  of  the  force.  This 
method  not  only  exists  among  the  unskilled  and  the  unor- 
ganized, but  in  well-organized  and  skilled  trades.  It  is  the 
almost  universal  custom  among  the  thousands  of  workmen 
in  the  building  trades  and  is  accepted  by  many  of  the  strong- 
est unions.     Such  strong  unions  as  the  Printers  and  the 

*i  Barnett,  The  Printers,  p.  225. 

*2  Typographical  Journal,  March,  191 5,  p.  344. 

■*3  Ibid.,  February,  1915,  p.  174. 


DISTRIBUTION    OF   EMPLOYMENT  I25 

Railroad  Brotherhoods  in  their  agreements  with  employers 
concede  to  the  latter  the  absolute  right  to  discharge  as  many 
as  they  please  in  the  dull  seasons,  merely  asking  that  the 
seniority  rights  of  the  workmen  be  respected.  Thus,  the 
majority  of  the  members  of  the  American  unions,  it  may  be 
safely  said,  are  not  affected  by  rules  which  provide  for  a 
distribution  of  employment. 

In  view  of  the  widely  varying  practices  of  the  unions,  it 
is  pertinent  to  inquire  what  are  the  differences  among  the 
trades  and  industries  which  lead  to  these  differences  in 
trade-union  policy.  Broadly  speaking  these  trade  charac- 
teristics are  as  follows : 

( 1 )  The  greater  differences  in  efficiency  among  workmen 
in  one  trade  than  in  another. 

(2)  The  greater  value,  other  than  general  efficiency,  of 
certain  workmen  to  a  particular  employer. 

(3)  The  greater  expense  and  difficulty  incurred  in  re- 
cruiting the  working  force  in  the  busy  seasons. 

(4)  Differences  in  the  factors  affecting  overhead  charges. 

I.  The  first  set  of  factors  is,  without  doubt,  the  dominat- 
ing influence  in  the  greater  number  of  cases.  The  capacity 
of  workmen  varies  considerably  in  some  trades.  The  ex- 
tent of  this  difference  depends  chiefly  upon  the  character  of 
the  trade,  it  being  greater  in  those  cases  where  the  skill  of 
the  workman  is  the  controlling  factor  in  production.  Inas- 
much as  the  members  of  unions  are  employed  at  standard 
rates,  and  as  this  minimum  has  generally  become  the  maxi- 
mum, the  employer  is  usually  paying  different  wage  rates 
per  unit  of  efficiency  to  his  various  workmen.  Therefore, 
when  an  employer  is  forced  to  curtail  production,  it  is  more 
economical  for  him  to  dismiss  those  workmen  who  are  less 
competent  than  to  retain  the  entire  force  either  on  short- 
time  or  in  rotation.  The  differentiation  in  favor  of  the 
more  competent  is,  of  course,  greater  in  those  trades  where 
time-wages  are  paid.  It  is  therefore  to  be  expected  that 
the  dismissal  of  workmen  in  the  slack  seasons  will  be  found 
more  frequently  where  time-wages  are  paid,  and  that  short- 


126      UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

time  and  rotation  will  be  more  common  in  industries  where 
piece-wages  are  paid.  Of  the  twelve  unions  whose  mem- 
bers work  short-time  in  periods  of  seasonal  and  cyclical 
fluctuations,  ten  are  in  trades  paying  piece-wages ;  and  one 
of  the  two  unions  whose  members  work  in  rotation  in  the 
dull  seasons  is  a  trade  with  piece-wages. 

A  union  whose  experience  illustrates  the  difficulty  of  forc- 
ing the  working  of  short-time  where  time-wages  are  paid 
and  the  comparative  ease  of  enforcing  it  among  piece-work- 
ers, is  the  Ladies'  Garment  Workers  of  New  York.  The 
protocol  of  191 1  provided  for  an  equal  distribution  of  work 
among  the  entire  working  force,  but  the  union  soon  found 
that,  although  the  manufacturers  retained  all  the  piece 
workers  in  dull  seasons,  many  of  the  employees  who  were 
paid  time-wages  were  being  discharged.  The  employers 
were  reluctant  to  keep  all  of  the  time-workers  since  many 
of  them  were  not  worth  the  standard  rate  of  pay  in  the  dull 
season.  The  Cloth  Hat  and  Cap  Workers'  Union  has  simi- 
larly been  unable  to  enforce  in  shops  paying  time-wages  its 
rule  requiring  an  equal  distribution  of  employment  while 
those  shops  where  piece-wages  are  paid  have  not  objected 
to  the  rule.**  The  secretary  of  the  Lithographers,  also, 
states  that  the  only  reason  that  the  Lithographers  have  been 
unsuccessful  in  their  attempts  to  secure  an  equal  distribu- 
tion of  employment  in  the  slack  seasons  is  that  they  are  paid 
time-wages.*^ 

It  is  not  to  be  inferred,  however,  that  all  piece-working 
trades  can  enforce  distribution  of  employment.  For  here, 
too,  the  inferiority  of  some  workers  to  others  may  play  a 
prominent  part.  It  is  said  that  the  daily  product  of  glass 
blowers  varies  as  much  as  fifty  per  cent  between  one  work- 
man and  another,  and  as  the  costs  for  heating  a  tank  of 
glass  and  other  incidental  expenses  are  the  same  for  the 
man  who  blows  five  gross  of  bottles  as  for  the  man  who 
blows  ten,  it  is  obvious  that  the  employer  would  prefer  to 
reduce  his  working  force  instead  of  working  short-time. 

**  Interview,  August,  191 5. 

*5  Interview  with  Secretary  O'Connor,  August,  1915. 


DISTRIBUTION    OF    EMPLOYMENT  I27 

2.  In  many  skilled  trades  the  class  of  work  varies  con- 
siderably from  one  shop  to  another  and  an  employee  of  one 
concern  may  be  obliged  to  familiarize  himself  with  the  con- 
ditions peculiar  to  that  establishment.  These  peculiarities 
may  relate  to  the  machinery,  the  process,  the  materials  or 
even  the  patrons  of  the  company.  Through  a  knowledge 
of  these  conditions  many  workmen  are  an  indispensable  part 
of  the  concern.  In  such  cases  the  employer  will  be  more 
likely  to  use  the  method  of  short-time  or  of  rotation  rather 
than  to  dismiss  a  part  of  the  working  force,  because  when 
the  full  force  is  again  required  he  may  not  be  able  to  secure 
the  services  of  the  dismissed  men. 

3.  In  trades  where  an  employer  can  reasonably  expect 
to  recruit  his  working  force  with  but  little  difficulty  or  ex- 
pense, there  is  less  incentive  for  him  to  work  short-time  in 
the  dull  seasons.  This  is  the  case  generally  with  employers 
of  unskilled  and  semi-skilled  workmen.  So  far  as  skilled 
workers  are  concerned  much  depends  upon  the  size  of  the 
industrial  community  and  the  normal  reserve  of  labor. 
When  there  is  more  than  one  establishment  in  a  community, 
there  is  a  greater  probability  that  workmen  can  be  obtained 
when  they  are  needed.  When  a  workman  is  dismissed  from 
the  only  establishment  in  his  community  at  which  he  can 
secure  employment,  he  will  generally  move  to  a  community 
where  his  chances  for  employment  are  greater.  The  pri- 
mary reason  for  short-time  employment  among  the  coal  and 
ore  miners,  textile,  and  lumber  workers,  is  that  the  employ- 
ers are  forced  to  give  to  each  workman  some  employment  to 
induce  him  to  remain  in  the  community,  in  order  that  his 
services  may  be  available  in  the  busy  season.  In  the  large 
industrial  centers  employers  are  not  generally  forced  to 
adopt  this  policy,  because  the  normal  reserve  of  labor  is 
sufficient  to  furnish  the  number  of  workmen  which  will  be 
required  when  he  increases  his  working  force. 

4.  In  some  industries  there  are  important  expenses  which 
are  constant,  regardless  of  the  number  of  workmen  em- 
ployed.    Thus,  charges  for  light,  heat,  power,  superintend- 


128       UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

ence,  and  subsidiary  labor  may  involve  such  an  expense 
that  it  will  be  more  economical  for  the  manufacturer  to  em- 
ploy the  entire  force  on  short  time,  as  for  example,  every 
other  week,  than  to  work  full  time,  dismissing  the  less  effi- 
cient workmen.  In  other  industries  this  expense  may  be  so 
small  as  to  have  no  influence  upon  the  method  to  be  used. 

Throughout  this  chapter  the  attempt  has  been  made  to 
show  the  position  of  the  unions  in  the  demand  for  an  equal 
distribution  of  employment  in  the  dull  seasons.  Naturally 
stress  has  been  laid  on  the  objections  of  the  employers,  but 
in  the  unions  themselves  there  are  certain  influential  ele- 
ments which  have  steadily  opposed  a  more  equitable  dis- 
tribution of  employment. 

In  the  greater  number  of  local  unions  there  are  certain 
members  comprising  the  more  efficient  workmen,  who 
dominate  the  business  transacted  by  the  union.  Whenever 
the  seasonal  fluctuation  is  of  such  intensity  as  to  cause  the 
dismissal  of  some  of  these  "  regulars,"  the  local  union  is 
insistent  upon  an  equal  division  of  employment.  But  when 
the  fluctuation  results  merely  in  the  discharge  of  a  few 
men  who  are  "  floaters  "  or  young  members,  the  action  of 
the  local  union  is  likely  to  be  different.  In  these  cases  the 
regulars  strenuously  object  to  a  division  of  employment  and 
frequently  refuse  to  abide  by  the  rules  of  the  national  union 
upon  the  subject.  The  Flint  Glass  Workers  at  their  con- 
vention in  1902,  in  the  hope  of  discouraging  such  violations 
of  the  rule  of  equal  division,  directed  one  of  the  local  unions 
to  pay  two  weeks  wages  to  a  member  whom  they  had  not 
allowed  to  share  in  the  division  of  work.'*®  Such  practices 
still  exist,  however,  for  the  president  in  1915  said:  "Our 
attention  has  been  called  to  the  fact  that  in  certain  localities, 
the  members  of  the  cutting  department  attempt  to  evade 
the  equal  division  of  time  rule  by  catering  to  the  foreman 
of  the  shops  and  receiving  favorite  treatment  from  the 
managers.     Conduct  of  this  kind  is  absolutely  wrong,  and 

*°  Proceedings,  1902,  p.  381. 


DISTRIBUTION    OF    EMPLOYMENT  1 29 

displays  a  weakness  in  trade  union  principles."*^  The  mem- 
bers of  the  Typographical  Union  voted  in  1908  to  continue 
the  enforcement  of  the  priority  rules,  which  are  a  great 
hindrance  to  the  equal  distribution  of  employment,  espe- 
cially among  the  substitutes.'*^ 

The  Railroad  Brotherhoods,  Boilermakers,  Iron  Hold- 
ers, Machinists,  and  other  unions  still  retain  in  their  agree- 
ments provision  for  the  seniority  rights  of  members  in  dull 
periods.  And  even  where  equal  division  is  the  rule,  it  is 
extremely  difficult  of  enforcement  on  account  of  the  hos- 
tility of  the  more  efficient  workmen.  An  official  of  the 
Brewery  Workers  says :  "  This  new  mode  of  laying  off  has 
caused  much  dissatisfaction,  which  certainly  is  not  in  accord 
with  the  socialistic  principles  which  our  organization  pre- 
tends to  advocate,  and  should  not  reveal  itself  so  openly."'*^ 

Despite  these  influences  within  the  unions,  however,  the 
agitation  for  an  equal  distribution  of  employment  in  the  dull 
seasons  is  gaining  great  strength.  Responsibility  for  intro- 
ducing and  promoting  distribution  must  in  great  measure  be 
placed  on  the  unions.  In  only  one  of  the  fourteen  indus- 
tries represented  by  unions  whose  members  work  on  short- 
time  and  in  rotation  during  dull  seasons,  is  it  likely  that 
these  methods  of  meeting  the  contraction  of  demand  would 
have  been  instituted  and  maintained  without  the  influence 
of  the  unions.  Conclusive  evidence  of  this  is  found  in  the 
fact  that  the  majority  of  non-union  establishments  in  these 
thirteen  trades  dismiss  a  part  of  their  working  forces  in  the 
slack  seasons  instead  of  working  on  short-time  or  in  ro- 
tation. 

♦■'^  Circular  of  the  Flint  Glass  Workers'  Union,  Number  13,  Feb- 
ruary 20,  191 5,  p.  I. 
*8  Typographical  Journal,  vol.  32,  p.  645. 
*»  Proceedings,  1903,  p.  199. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Unemployment  Insurance 

The  development  of  beneficiary  features  in  American 
trade  unions  has  been  far  slower  than  in  the  European  trade 
unions.  Of  the  iii  national  unions  affiliated  with  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor  in  1916  only  69  were  re- 
ported as  paying  benefits  of  any  kind,  and  of  these  35  had 
established  only  one  form  of  benefit.  Only  9  unions  re- 
ported that  they  had  expended  anything  for  the  support  of 
their  unemployed.  The  expenditures  for  beneficiary  fea- 
tures of  these  69  unions  were  $3,545,823  for  the  year  1916, 
and  of  this  sum  only  $120,770  or  about  three  per  cent  was 
for  the  relief  of  the  unemployed.^ 

In  1908,  669  of  the  1058  trade  unions  in  Great  Britain 
paid  some  form  of  unemployment  benefit.  The  total  ex- 
penditures in  1908  in  England  for  this  benefit  alone  was 
$6,289,565  or  $2.75  per  capita.  This  comparison  shows 
the  relatively  small  importance  which  American  trade 
unions  attach  to  organized  out-of-work  relief.  In  the  100 
principal  trade  unions  of  England,  which  represent  about 
60  per  cent  of  the  total  membership,  the  total  amount  of 
unemployment  benefits  paid  during  the  three  years  1908- 
1910  was  $13,250,000,  which  was  31  per  cent  of  all  expen- 
ditures.^ 

There  are  only  three  American  national  unions  which  at 
this  time,  1916,  are  paying  out-of-work  benefits — the  Cigar 
Makers,  the  Deutsch-Amerikanischen  Typographia,  and  the 
Diamond  Workers.^ 

1  Report  of  Secretary,  in  Proceedings  of  the  Thirty-sixth  Annual 
Convention  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  1916,  p.  31. 

2  The  17th  Report  on  Trade  Unions  of  Great  Britain.  Report  on 
Trade  Unions  in  1908-1910,  pp.  iii,  xxi,  xxxiii. 

3  Both  the  Coal  Hoisting  Engineers,  which  disbanded  in  1904,  and 
the  Jewelry  Workers,  which  disbanded  in   1912,  paid  out-of-work 

130 


UNEMPLOYMENT   INSURANCE  I3I 

For  many  years  prior  to  the  adoption  of  this  form  of 
benefit  by  the  Cigar  Makers,  several  of  the  local  unions  of 
cigar  makers  had  formed  systems  of  their  own.  As  early 
as  1875  the  New  York  branch  provided  that  members  who 
had  been  unemployed  for  two  weeks  were  entitled  to  receive 
benefits  for  a  term  of  three  weeks.*  At  the  convention  in 
1876  Mr.  Samuel  Gompers,  then  secretary  of  the  New  York 
City  local  union,  proposed  a  national  out-of-work  benefit 
modeled  upon  the  New  York  system,  but  the  proposed 
benefit  received  scant  attention.^  During  the  following 
years  several  other  local  unions  adopted  the  New  York  plan 
and  the  movement  for  a  national  out-of-work  benefit  found 
many  adherents.®  President  Hurst  recommended  to  several 
conventions  that  the  local  unions  be  allowed  to  vote  upon  the 
question  but  the  opponents  of  the  plan  declared  that  the 
higher  dues  necessitated  by  the  proposed  benefit  would  force 
many  members  from  the  union,  and  defeated  the  measure.'^ 
President  Strasser  and  other  officials  argued  in  favor  of  an 
out-of-work  benefit  at  every  convention,  but  it  was  not  until 
the  eighteenth  convention,  held  in  September,  1889,  that 
the  benefit  system  as  framed  by  Mr.  Gompers  was  adopted.® 

The  system  which  went  into  efifect  in  January,  1890,  pro- 
vided that  unemployed  members  who  had  paid  dues  for  one 
year  were  entitled  to  $3.00  per  week  and  50  cents  for  each 
additional  day,  the  benefit  beginning  with  the  second  week 
of  unemployment.  After  receiving  benefits  for  six  consecu- 
tive weeks  the  member  was  not  entitled  to  any  benefit  for 
seven  weeks  thereafter,  and  the  maximum  amount  to  be 
received  in  one  year  was  $72.00.  No  benefit  was  to  be 
paid  from  December  16  to  January  15  and  from  July  i  to 
July  15,  as  manufacturers  generally  closed  their  shops  dur- 

benefits.  The  British  trade  unions  which  have  members  in  the 
United  States — the  Amalgamated  Carpenters  and  the  Amalgamated 
Engineers — provide  for  unemployment  insurance. 

*  Cigar  Makers'  Journal,  February,  1889,  p.  8. 

5  Ibid.,  September,  1876,  p.  i. 

8  Ibid.,  April,  1877,  P-  i- 

■^  Ibid.,  April,  1879,  p.  4. 

8  Proceedings  of  the  Eighteenth  Convention,  1889,  p.  18. 


132      UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN   TRADE   UNIONS 

ing  these  periods.  If  a  member  was  thrown  out  of  employ- 
ment on  account  of  intoxication,  disorderly  conduct,  or  bad 
workmanship  he  was  not  entitled  to  any  benefit  for  eight 
weeks,  but  inability  to  hold  a  job  did  not  deprive  a  member 
of  his  benefit.  Those  receiving  benefits  were  required  to 
report  daily  at  the  secretary's  office  and  sign  their  names  in 
a  book  provided  for  that  purpose.  Members  were  not  en- 
titled to  the  benefit  if  they  refused  to  work  in  a  shop  where 
work  was  ofTered,  or  neglected  to  apply  for  employment  in 
a  shop  if  directed  to  do  so  by  an  officer  of  the  local  union. 

The  system  was  successful  from  the  beginning,  although 
many  attempts  were  made  to  break  down  the  safeguards 
established  for  its  proper  management.  At  the  convention 
in  1891  it  was  provided  that  a  member  must  procure  from 
the  collector  of  the  shop  in  which  he  was  last  employed  a 
certificate  stating  the  cause  of  his  discharge,  and  that  if  any 
member  failed  to  register  for  three  successive  days  the 
benefit  of  previous  registration  was  forfeited,  if  such  regis- 
tration was  for  less  than  one  week.**  On  account  of  the  great 
increase  of  out-of-work  benefits  paid  in  1894,  1895,  and 
1896,  the  convention  in  the  latter  year  voted  to  reduce  the 
expenditures  for  this  benefit.  This  was  done  by  restricting 
the  benefit  to  cigar  makers  of  two  years'  membership,  by 
reducing  the  maximum  amount  to  be  drawn  in  one  year 
from  $72.00  to  $54.00,  and  by  extending  the  periods  during 
which  the  benefit  was  not  to  be  paid.^''  The  system  has  re- 
mained unchanged  since  the  convention  of  1896. 

During  the  first  year  of  its  operation  $22,760  was  paid  to 
2286  members,  or  less  than  10  per  cent  of  the  membership. 
The  per  capita  cost  for  the  first  year  was  92  cents,  87  cents 
for  the  second  year,  and  65  cents  for  the  third  year.  Dur- 
ing the  depression  of  1 893-1 896  the  cost  increased  greatly, 
there  being  expended  in  1896  $175,767  or  $6.43  per  capita. 
Since  then  the  cost  has  gradually  diminished,  and  except  for 
the  years  1908,  1909,  1912,  and  1914,  has  never  exceeded 

»  Proceedings  of  the  Nineteenth  Convention,  1891,  p.  23. 
1°  Proceedings  of  the  Twenty-first  Convention,  1896,  p.  31. 


UNEMPLOYMENT   INSURANCE  133 

$1.00  per  capita.  The  system  had  been  in  operation  twenty- 
five  years  on  January  i,  1915,  and  had  cost  the  union  $1,- 
486,732,  or  an  average  annual  per  capita  cost  of  about  $1.90. 

The  Deutsch-Amerikanischen  Typographia  established  its 
out-of-work  benefit  in  1884,  eleven  years  after  the  national 
union  was  founded.  As  was  the  case  with  the  Cigar 
Makers,  the  system  was  modeled  after  a  benefit  in  opera- 
tion in  one  of  the  local  unions.  The  only  changes  which 
have  been  made  in  the  original  plan  have  had  to  do  with  the 
amount  of  the  weekly  benefit.  At  the  outset  the  benefit  was 
fixed  at  $5.00  per  week,  but  as  it  was  found  that  the  assess- 
ments more  than  paid  for  the  system,  it  was  increased  in 
1888  to  $6.00  per  week.  However,  in  1894  the  weekly 
benefit  was  reduced  to  the  original  amount  on  account  of 
increased  payments  due  to  the  general  business  depression 
and  to  the  introduction  of  the  linotype.  In  1908,  owing  to 
the  prosperous  financial  condition  of  the  union,  it  was  again 
raised  to  $6.00  per  week  where  it  has  since  remained. 

The  operation  of  the  system  at  present  is  in  many  respects 
similar  to  that  of  the  Cigar  Makers.  Unemployed  members 
who  have  been  in  good  standing  for  two  years  are  entitled 
to  $6.00  |>er  week,  beginning  with  the  fourth  week  of  un- 
employment. After  having  received  benefits  for  four  weeks, 
a  period  of  three  weeks  must  intervene  before  the  member 
is  again  entitled  to  the  benefit,  and  the  amount  received 
during  the  fiscal  year  cannot  exceed  $96.00  Members  who 
are  unemployed  through  their  own  fault  are  not  entitled  to 
the  benefit  until  they  have  been  on  the  unemployed  list  for 
seven  weeks,  but  if  the  situation  has  been  voluntarily  given 
up,  the  member  is  allowed  to  draw  the  benefit  after  a  period 
of  four  weeks.  The  secretaries  of  the  local  unions  specify 
certain  hours  of  the  day  during  which  the  unemployed  must 
register  at  the  union  offices.  Should  the  member  receive 
employment  for  one  day  while  on  the  unemployed  list,  $1  is 
deducted  from  his  weekly  benefit,  but  four  days'  employment 
in  one  week  debars  him  from  any  benefit  for  that  week. 
Members  who  refuse  to  accept  a  situation  are  not  allowed  to 


134 


UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE    UNIONS 


register  for  a  period  of  six  weeks,  while  refusal  to  work  as 
a  substitute  debars  from  the  benefit  for  two  weeks.  In- 
ability to  hold  a  position  debars  a  member  from  any  benefit, 
and  only  through  the  action  of  the  local  union  can  he  be 
given  any  financial  assistance. 

The  cost  of  the  out-of-work  benefit  in  the  Cigar  Makers' 
Union  and  in  the  Typographia  is  shown  in  the  following 
table : 


Cost  of  Maintaining  the  Out-of-Work  Benefit 


Typograph 

a 

Cigar  Makers 

Year 

Total  Cost 

Per  Capita 
Cost 

Total  Cost 

Per  Capita 
Cost 

1885 

$    1,118.90 

$   2.00 

1886 

i,453-o8 

1-52 

1887 

1,240.10 

I   15 

1888 

1,315-13 

1. 16 

1889 

6,281.50 

5-55 

1890 

4.315-00 

3-47 

$   22,760.50 

$    .92 

189I 

6,067.00 

4-58 

21,223.50 

•87 

1892 

9,359-50 

6.77 

17,460.75 

•65 

1893 

7,835-00 

5-67 

89,402.75 

3-34 

1894 

17,262.50 

14-33 

174-517-25 

6.27 

1895 

9,464.20 

8.66 

166,377.25 

5-99 

1896 

7,812.00 

7.00 

175,767-25 

6.43 

1897 

8,485.00 

7-83 

117,471.40 

4.46 

X898 

8,603.00 

7.82 

70,197.70 

2.65 

1899 

11,135.00 

10.39 

38,037.00 

I-3I 

1900 

8,703.00 

8.33 

23,897.00 

.70 

I9OI 

6,716.00 

6.56 

27,083.76 

.79 

1902 

7,839.00 

7.86 

21,071.00 

.56 

1903 

4,846.00 

4.86 

15,558.00 

•39 

1904 

5,785-00 

5-82 

29,872.50 

.72 

1905 

5,105.00 

5-23 

35,168.50 

.87 

1906 

5,086.00 

5.22 

23,911.00 

.61 

1907 

3,802.00 

3-84 

19,497-50 

•47 

1908 

6,585.00 

6.78 

101,483.50 

2.51 

1909 

6,350.00 

6.69 

76,107.25 

1.71 

I9IO 

4,011.00 

4-34 

39,917.00 

.91 

I9II 

3,401.00 

3-70 

36,942.50 

.88 

I912 

3,670.00 

4-13 

42,911.05 

1.06 

I913 

3,248.00 

3-64 

31,898.71 

•79 

I914 

3,188.00 

3-59 

68,198.00 

1.70 

Total 

$180,081,91 

$1,486,732.62 

Average .... 

6,002.73 

5.61 

59,469.30 

1.90 

UNEMPLOYMENT   INSURANCE  I35 

Some  comparison  can  be  made  of  the  cost  of  the  out-of- 
work  benefit  in  the  two  unions.  During  the  twenty  years 
existence  of  the  Cigar  Makers'  system  the  average  annual 
per  capita  cost  has  been  $1.90,  while  the  average  annual  per 
capita  cost  of  the  German  Printers  has  been  $5.61.  But 
this  great  difference  has  not  been  due  chiefly  to  a  greater 
amount  of  unemployment,  although  the  printers  are  more 
subject  to  unemployment  than  the  cigar  makers.  The 
weekly  benefit  of  the  Cigar  Makers  is  only  one-half  of  that 
of  the  Typographia,  while  the  maximum  yearly  benefit  is 
only  about  sixty  per  cent  as  great. 

During  the  past  few  years  there  appears  to  have  been  a 
tendency  towards  decreased  per  capita  costs  in  both  unions. 
This  is  partly  due  in  the  case  of  the  Cigar  Makers  to  a  more 
stringent  administration  of  the  system,  while  in  the  Typo- 
graphia it  is  the  result  of  the  introduction  of  the  old  age 
pension  in  July,  1908.  Secretary  Miller  of  the  Typographia 
says  that  the  majority  of  the  members  receiving  the  benefit 
for  the  unemployed  are  the  older  men  who  are  unable  to 
operate  typesetting  machines,  and  that  before  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  old  age  pension  these  members  drew  the  maxi- 
mum out-of-work  benefit  each  year.^^ 

As  the  periods  in  which  the  two  unions  have  paid  unem- 
ployment benefits  are  about  the  same,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  there  is  a  striking  correspondence  between  the  fluctua- 
tions in  their  per  capita  costs.  Both  fall  and  rise  together 
throughout  the  twenty-five  years.  From  1892  to  1894  the 
Cigar  Makers'  per  capita  cost  rose  from  65  cents  to  $6.27 
and  the  Typographia's  from  %6.yy  to  $14.33,  while  from 
1899  to  1907  the  cost  of  the  Cigar  Makers  decreased  gradu- 
ally from  $1.31  to  47  cents  and  that  of  the  Typographia  from 
$10.39  to  $3.84.  Both  rose  during  the  panic  of  1907-1908 
and  have  since  decreased  gradually. 

The  Diamond  Workers'  Union,  organized  in  1902,  estab- 
lished an  out-of-work  benefit  in  1912.  The  system  went 
into  effect  on  August  i,  191 2.     It  provided  that  the  out- 

11  In  letter  to  the  writer,  October  19,  1915. 


136       UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

of-work  fund  should  be  maintained  by  assessments  of  ten 
cents  per  week  upon  all  employed  members.  Those  mem- 
bers who  had  been  employed  for  thirteen  full  weeks  during 
the  first  half-year  of  their  membership  and  who  had  been 
unemployed  for  six  consecutive  weeks  were  entitled  to 
benefits.  The  unemployed  were  to  receive  a  benefit  of  $6.00 
per  week  and  $1.00  for  each  additional  day  of  idleness,  but 
could  not  draw  benefits  for  more  than  thirteen  weeks,  or 
seventy-eight  working  days,  during  the  fiscal  year.  Mem- 
bers drawing  benefits  who  found  employment  for  four  con- 
secutive weeks  or  more  were  not  entitled  to  an  additional 
benefit  until  they  had  been  idle  for  six  additional  consecu- 
tive weeks,  while  those  who  had  been  drawing  the  benefit 
and  received  work  for  less  than  four  weeks  were  not  to 
receive  the  benefit  until  they  had  been  idle  for  as  many  days 
as  they  had  been  employed.  Members  who  had  resigned 
from  their  employment  without  reasons  satisfactory  to  the 
executive  board  or  who  had  courted  their  discharge  were 
excluded  from  the  benefit,  and  those  who  refused  to  accept 
employment  when  offered  forfeited  all  rights  to  the  benefit 
during  the  fiscal  year.  Those  receiving  the  benefit  were 
compelled  to  report  at  the  headquarters  of  the  union  every 
Tuesday  and  Friday  between  the  hours  of  10  and  12  A.M.^^ 
Several  important  changes  in  the  system  have  been  made 
since  its  establishment.  In  July,  191 3,  the  weekly  benefit 
was  increased  from  $6.00  to  $7.50,  and  members  became 
entitled  to  the  benefit  after  they  had  been  unemployed  for 
four  weeks  instead  of  six  weeks. ^^  At  first  it  was  thought 
that  with  an  initial  donation  of  $600.00  to  the  fund  from  the 
general  funds  of  the  union  the  assessment  of  ten  cents  per 
week  would  be  sufficient  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the 
benefit  system.  It  appears  that  in  normal  times  the  income 
from  this  source  was  sufficient  to  cover  the  expenses,  but 
during  the  depression  of  1914-1915  the  expenditures  for  the 

^2  Circular  of  the  Diamond  Workers  Protective  Union  of  Amer- 
ica (New  York,  n.  d.). 

13  Letter  to  the  writer  from  President  Andries  Meyer,  March  7, 
1916. 


UNEMPLOYMENT   INSURANCE  I37 

benefit  were  so  large  that  it  was  necessary  to  transfer  large 
sums  from  the  general  fund  of  the  union  to  the  out-of-work 
fund.  Thus,  from  January  i,  1914,  to  March  31,  1915, 
$22,600  was  drawn  from  the  general  fund  for  the  use  of  the 
out-of-work  benefit."  In  1916  the  employed  members  were 
assessed  $1.00  per  week  besides  the  regular  dues  in  order 
to  provide  new  resources  for  the  out-of-work  fund.^^ 

The  following  table  shows  the  amounts  paid  since  Oc- 
tober I,  1912: 

OuT-OF-WoRK    Benefits    Paid   by   the   Diamond   Workers'    Pro- 
tective Union 

Quarter  Ending  Amount 

December  31,  1912 $     435-00 

March  31,  1913  78.00 

June  30,  1913 36.00 

September  30,  1913  181,25 

December  31,  1913 567.50 

March  31,  1914 3,04i-2S 

June  30,  1914  4-863.75 

September  30,  1914 7,163.75 

December  31,  1914 7,213.75 

March  31,  1915 2,622.50 

June  30,  191S   96.25 

September  30,   1915    670.00 

December  31,  1915 258.70 

Total  cost    $27,227.70 

Average  per  capita  $       86.43 

Although  but  three  national  unions  have  established  out- 
of-work  benefits,  a  great  many,  at  one  time  or  another,  have 
made  special  provision  for  the  unemployed  by  donating 
money  for  this  purpose  from  the  general  funds  of  the  union. 
These  emergency  benefits  have  usually  been  put  into  opera- 
tion during  periods  of  general  business  depression. 

The  following  table  shows  the  total  annual  amounts  in- 
cluding regular  benefits  and  special  appropriations,  which 
have  been  appropriated  for  the  relief  of  the  unemployed  by 
the  unions  reporting  to  the  American  Federation  of  Labor. 

^*  Quarterly  Financial  Statements,  Jan.  i,  to  Mar.  31,  1914;  Jan.  i 
to  Mar.  31,  1915. 

15  Letter  to  the  writer  from  President  Andries  Meyer,  March  7, 
1916. 


138      UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE    UNIONS 


Unemployment  Benefits  Paid  by  Unions  Reporting  to  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor,  1903-1916 


Year 

Amount 

Year 

Amount 

1903 
1904 

1905 
1906 
1907 
1908 

$   79,538-37 
78,073-25 
85,050.72 
79,582.70 
46,481.79 
205,254.31 

484,028.49 

197,808.00 

I9II 
I912 

I9I3 
I9I4 

I9I5 
I916 

$218,742.71 

215,398.60 

69,445-70 

99,024.88 

256,002.29 

120,770.60 

1909 

Total 

$2,235,202.41 

I9IO 

Average 

$159,657-32 

Typical  examples  of  emergency  funds  for  the  unem- 
ployed are  those  of  the  Flint  Glass  Workers  and  the  Glass 
Bottle  Blowers.  The  general  business  depression  of  1907 
closed  many  factories  in  which  members  of  the  Flint  Glass 
Workers  were  employed  and  the  national  union  was  be- 
sieged with  appeals  from  the  unemployed  who  numbered 
over  thirty  per  cent  of  the  membership.  A  relief  fund  was 
established  and  about  $5,000  was  donated  monthly  to  the 
unemployed  until  business  conditions  improved.^® 

During  the  same  depression  the  Glass  Bottle  Blowers  were 
confronted  with  a  situation  not  unlike  that  of  the  Flint  Glass 
Workers.  The  general  office  received  so  many  applications 
for  help  that  the  executive  board,  on  January  7,  1909,  de- 
cided to  establish  a  fund  for  the  relief  of  the  unemployed 
by  increasing  the  assessment  upon  the  earnings  of  those  em- 
ployed. Within  a  few  weeks  after  its  establishment  3200 
of  the  8200  members  were  receiving  relief.  The  unemployed 
married  members  were  given  $7.00  per  week  and  the  unem- 
ployed single  members,  $5.00  per  week  for  an  indefinite 
period.  During  the  period  in  which  relief  was  granted  there 
was  expended  $260,502.75.^^  During  the  depression  of 
1914-1915  the  national  union  loaned  money  to  the  local 
unions  to  relieve  the  unemployed.  In  1914  the  sum  of  $9,- 
890.13    was    expended,^^    while    in    191 5    the    expenditure 

18  Proceedings,  1908,  p.  91  et  seq. 

1'^  Proceedings,  1910,  pp.  50,  70. 

18  Proceedings  of  American  Federation  of  Labor,  1914,  p.  29. 


UNEMPLOYMENT    INSURANCE  I39 

amounted  to  $55,000.^^  Although  this  money  was  to  be 
repaid,  it  is  said  that  there  is  very  Httle  Hkelihood  that  this 
will  be  done. 

Although  the  out-of-work  benefit  has  been  utilized  so 
little  by  the  American  trade  unions,  there  is  scarcely  a  union 
in  which  there  has  not  been  a  more  or  less  continuous  agita- 
tion for  its  adoption.  These  campaigns  have  been  waged 
not  only  in  the  unions  which  were  in  existence  when  the 
Cigar  Makers  and  the  Typographia  adopted  the  benefit,  but 
also  in  unions  founded  within  the  last  fifteen  years.  The 
agitation  has  been  greatest  during  periods  of  general  busi- 
ness depression,  but  it  goes  on  even  in  the  most  prosperous 
years. 

The  Brotherhood  of  Carpenters  and  Joiners  aflfords  an 
illustration  of  this  continuous  agitation.  P.  J.  McGuire, 
the  founder  of  the  union,  advocated  the  establishment  of 
an  unemployed  benefit.  In  the  conventions  of  1894  and  1896 
he  expounded  its  advantages  and  recommended  its  adoption, 
but  each  time  the  proposed  benefit  was  defeated.^"  Presi- 
dent Lloyd  at  the  New  York  convention  of  1898  urged  the 
delegates  to  establish  a  benefit  for  the  unemployed,  and 
this  time  the  question  was  submitted  to  a  referendum  vote 
but  was  defeated.^^  During  the  panic  of  1908  Secretary 
Duffy  reported  to  the  convention  that  he  heartily  favored 
some  plan  whereby  the  union  might  be  able  to  give  aid  to 
the  unemployed.^-  At  almost  every  convention  since,  the 
question  has  been  debated  and  in  many  of  the  issues  of 
The  Carpenter  there  are  letters  from  members  urging  the 
union  to  adopt  some  form  of  unemployment  insurance. 

The  Typographical  Union,  which  has  an  extensive  benefit 
system,  has  frequently  considered  the  advisability  of  estab- 
lishing an  out-of-work  benefit.  Its  officers,  like  those  of 
the  Carpenters,  have  been  the  most  aggressive  exponents  of 
the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  such  action.     President 

18  Proceedings  of  American  Federation  of  Labor,  1915,  p.  30. 
-^  The  Carpenter,  January,  1908,  p.  10. 
21  Proceedings,  1898,  p.  8. 
2*  Proceedings,  1908,  p.  5. 


140       UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE    UNIONS 

Prescott  at  the  convention  of  1894  urged  the  members  to 
adopt  the  out-of-work  benefit  instead  of  the  sick  benefit.^^ 
During  the  period  in  which  the  Hnotype  was  displacing  great 
numbers  of  printers  the  agitation  for  an  out-of-work  benefit 
became  general  throughout  the  union,  but  each  time  it  was 
put  to  a  vote  of  the  membership  it  was  defeated.  As  late 
as  1907  President  Lynch  said :  "  It  has  long  been  the  belief 
of  the  president  that  the  Typographical  Union  is  great 
enough,  experienced  enough,  and  in  the  possession  of  the 
necessary  machinery,  to  establish  and  successfully  carry  on 
an  out-of-work  benefit."^*  During  the  depression  of  1914 
many  letters  were  written  to  the  Typographical  Journal 
urging  the  adoption  of  this  benefit,  and  the  convention  of 
191 5  provided  for  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  inves- 
tigate the  feasibility  of  establishing  an  out-of-work  benefit 
for  the  International  Union.-' 

When  the  Plumbers  in  1899  decided  to  inaugurate  a  sys- 
tem of  benefits,  a  campaign  was  made  for  the  out-of-work 
benefit,  but  through  the  conservatism  of  its  officers  other 
benefits  were  chosen  instead.  In  1908  the  executive  board 
was  authorized  by  the  convention  to  ascertain  the  probable 
cost  of  the  benefit,  but  the  finances  of  the  union  were  in 
such  condition  that  the  adoption  of  the  benefit  at  that  time 
would  have  been  impossible.-*'  In  the  Pattern  Makers  this 
benefit  was  considered  at  the  organization  of  the  union,  and 
has  since  been  discussed  at  nearly  every  convention.  As 
several  of  its  local  unions  already  had  unemployment  bene- 
fits, the  movement  made  considerable  headway,  but  each 
time  the  question  has  been  submitted  to  the  members,  it  has 
failed  of  adoption.  During  the  financial  panic  of  1896  and 
the  years  of  depression  following  there  was  a  strong  move- 
ment in  favor  of  the  out-of-work  benefit  in  the  Iron,  Steel 
and  Tin  Workers,  Painters,  Granite  Cutters,  Bakers,  and 
Lithographers,  but  in  recent  years  there  appears  to  have 

23  Barnett,  The  Printers,  p.  103. 
2*  Ibid.,  p.  106. 

25  Proceedings,  1915,  p.  65. 

26  Proceedings,  1908,  p.  93. 


UNEMPLOYMENT   INSURANCE  I4I 

been  no  attempt  in  these  unions  to  reopen  the  question.  On 
the  other  hand,  in  the  Brewery  Workers,  Metal  Polishers, 
Photo-Engravers,  Boot  and  Shoe  Workers,  and  Potters,  the 
out-of-work  benefit  has  been  the  subject  of  consideration 
during  the  past  few  years,  and  at  each  succeeding  conven- 
tion seems  to  gain  additional  support. 

The  failure  of  the  national  unions  to  provide  out-of-work 
benefits  has  led  many  local  unions  in  various  trades  to  estab- 
lish systems  of  their  own.  These  exist  in  nearly  all  unions 
and  some  of  them  have  been  in  existence  for  many  years. 
Probably  the  oldest  and  most  important  are  those  found 
among  the  Printers. 

The  Typographical  Association  of  New  York  City,  as 
early  as  183 1,  provided  that  the  sum  of  $3.00  per  week 
should  be  paid  to  unemployed  single  members  and  $4.00 
per  week  to  unemployed  married  members.  This  benefit 
was  to  be  paid  as  long  as  the  members  were  unemployed 
unless  a  member  refused  to  accept  a  situation  offered  him 
or  made  no  effort  to  procure  employment.  This  system 
remained  in  operation  for  only  a  few  years,  but  it  was  re- 
established later  and  was  maintained  throughout  a  business 
depression.^^  In  September,  1893,  ^^^^  unemployed  benefit 
was  reestablished,  but  it  was  not  until  March,  1896,  that  a 
permanent  system  was  founded.  The  money  for  this  bene- 
fit was  to  be  secured  by  an  assessment  of  one  per  cent  on 
the  earnings  of  those  employed.  Unemployed  members 
who  had  been  in  good  standing  for  one  year  were  entitled 
to  a  benefit  of  $4.00  per  week  for  the  first  four  weeks  of 
unemployment,  but  not  more  than  four  weeks'  benefit  could 
be  drawn  in  any  six  weeks  nor  more  than  $60.00  in  any 
one  year.'^  This  system  remained  in  operation  until  Au- 
gust, 1907,  during  which  time  the  sum  of  $520,645  was  ex- 
pended. The  following  table  shows  the  annual  total  cost 
and  the  annual  average  per  capita  cost. 

27  George  A.  Stevens,  "  The  History  of  Typographical  Union 
Number  Six  "  in  Annual  Report  of  the  New  York  Bureau  of  Labor 
Statistics,  1911,  part  i,  pp.  112  and  113. 

-*  Ibid.,  pp.  478  and  479. 


142 


UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 


Cost  of   Maintaining  the   Out-of-Work   Benefit  in   the    New 
York  City  Typographical  Union 


Year 

Total  Cost 

Per  Capita 
Cost 

! 

Year                  Total  Cost 

Per  Capita 
Cost 

1894 

1895 
1896 
1897 
1898 
1899 

$18,259.04 

17,779-05 
25,365.20 
30,211.70 
35,169.24 
37,274-13 

40,323-65 
40,451.46 

$3-59 

3-81 
5.38 
6.29 
6.90 
6.88 

7-45 
7-36 

1902  $40,715.75 

1903  44,510.86 

1904  I      45,458.12 

1905  50,385.80 

1906  54,701.69 

1907  40,039.56 

$7-07 
7-14 
7.06 

7.40 

8.II 
5-95 

1900 

Total $520,645.25 

I9OI 

Average.  .    $37,188.90 

$6.45 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  per  capita  cost  shows  no  sudden 
changes  in  periods  of  depression  or  prosperity.  With  but 
few  exceptions,  the  cost  increased  each  year — from  $3.59  in 
1894  to  $8.11  in  1906.  Inasmuch  as  the  weekly  benefit  and 
the  maximum  amount  which  could  be  drawn  in  one  year 
remained  the  same  it  is  evident  that  the  benefit,  if  continued, 
would  have  become  a  serious  financial  drain  upon  the  union's 
resources.  Since  August,  1907,  when  the  system  was  abol- 
ished, the  unemployed  who  have  been  in  need  of  assistance 
have  been  given  benefits,  ranging  from  $5.00  to  $15.00  ac- 
cording to  individual  need,  through  a  benefit  board  which 
investigates  each  case  to  prevent  imposition.  The  money 
for  this  relief  has  been  secured  by  a  special  assessment  of 
one  half  of  one  per  cent  on  the  earnings  of  those  employed. 
During  the  depression  of  1914  this  source  of  income  was 
insufficient  and  an  assessment  of  five  per  cent  on  all  earn- 
ings of  over  $10.00  per  week  was  made.-°  Several  other 
local  unions  of  the  Printers,  especially  the  Chicago  union, 
have  been  paying  out-of-work  benefits  for  several  years. ^" 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  their  national  union  pays 
unemployment  benefits  the  three  hundred  German  type- 
setters of  the  New  York  City  local  union  have  established 
an  additional  benefit.  This  is  so  arranged  that  after  a 
member  has  received  the  national  benefit  for  four  weeks 

29  The  Survey,  February  20,  191 5,  p.  550. 

30  Typographical  Journal,  January,  1915,  p.  42. 


UNEMPLOYMENT   INSURANCE  1 43 

the  local  union  provides  a  benefit  for  the  succeeding  weeks, 
during  which  the  unemployed  member  receives  no  benefit 
from  the  national  union. ^^ 

The  Boot  and  Shoe  Workers^-  and  the  Lithographers^^ 
have  constitutional  provisions  recommending  that  their 
local  unions  establish  out-of-work  benefit  funds.  In  both 
unions  several  of  the  subordinate  unions  have  acted  upon 
the  suggestion.  The  New  York  City  branch  of  the  Lithog- 
raphers, for  instance,  provides  that  members  who  have  been 
unemployed  for  one  week  are  entitled  to  a  benefit  of  $3.00 
per  week.  The  maximum  amount  that  can  be  secured  in 
one  year  is  $60.  To  be  entitled  to  the  benefit,  a  member 
must  secure  from  the  delegate  of  the  shop  in  which  he  was 
last  employed  a  certificate  stating  the  cause  of  his  discharge 
or  lay-off.  If  he  is  instructed  by  a  local  union  officer  to 
apply  for  a  position  and  fails  to  do  so,  he  is  not  entitled  to 
any  benefit.^* 

The  Bakery  and  Confectionery  Workers  at  its  convention 
in  1904  recommended  that  "immediate  steps  be  taken  to 
create  in  every  local  union  an  out-of-work  benefit."^^  In 
191 5  Secretary  Mand  stated  that  about  thirty  or  forty  local 
unions  had  inaugurated  systems  for  the  support  of  their 
unemployed.^®  In  the  Brewery  Workers  there  are  prob- 
ably not  less  than  twenty  local  unions  which  pay  out-of- 
work  benefits,  but  as  no  report  of  these  funds  is  made 
to  the  national  union,  detailed  information  cannot  be  secured 
concerning  them.^^  The  Newark,  New  Jersey,  local  union, 
with  370  members,  reported  to  the  convention  of  1903  that 
it  had  expended  $10,000  during  the  previous  year  for  the 
support  of  its  unemployed,^*  and  the  Chicago  local  union  of 
650  members  reported  that  in  1900  it  had  disbursed  $3,652 

31  The  Survey,  February  20,  1915,  p.  549. 

"2  Constitution,  1913,  sec.  64. 

33  Constitution,  1913,  art.  4,  sec.  5. 

3*  Constitution,  1905,  art.  3,  sees.  2,  3,  4  and  5. 

35  Bakers'  Journal,  October  21,  1905,  p.  i. 

38  Interview,  August,  1915. 

37  Interview  with  Secretary  Proebstle,  August,  1915. 

38  Proceedings,  1903,  p.  193! 


144       UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

on  account  of  its  unemployment  benefit.^^  The  Cleveland 
branch  provides  that  a  member  who  has  been  out  of  employ- 
ment for  four  weeks  is  entitled  to  a  benefit  of  $3.00  per 
week  for  ten  weeks  during  a  year/"  and  the  New  York 
City  local  union  with  1200  members  pays  a  benefit  of  $4.00 
per  week  for  twelve  weeks  in  each  of  two  years,  after  which 
a  member  must  pay  dues  for  a  full  year  before  he  will  again 
be  entitled  to  the  benefit.*^ 

Several  of  the  larger  local  unions  of  the  Pattern  Makers 
have  had  out-of-work  benefit  systems  in  operation  for  the 
past  ten  years.  The  Boston  association  established  its 
benefit  in  1906.  It  was  provided  that  a  member  who  had 
been  in  good  standing  for  at  least  six  months  should  be 
entitled  to  a  benefit  of  $7.00  per  week,  such  benefit  to  begin 
after  the  first  week  of  unemployment  and  to  be  limited  to 
thirteen  weeks  in  any  one  year.*^  During  the  period  April, 
1913,  to  April,  1914,  $4,280  was  expended  for  this  benefit.*^ 
The  New  York  City  local  union  has  paid  the  sum  of  $5.00 
per  week  as  relief  to  its  unemployed  members  for  several 
years.  During  the  year  1908  this  benefit  cost  the  union  an 
average  of  $728  each  week.** 

Among  the  Photo-Engravers,  the  local  unions  in  Phila- 
delphia, New  York,  Chicago,  and  several  other  cities  have 
successful  out-of-work  funds.  The  New  York  local  union 
pays  to  the  unemployed  a  weekly  benefit  of  $6.00  for  an 
indefinite  period.*^ 

In  the  following  unions  there  exist  but  one  or  two  local- 
union  permanent  out-of-work  benefits :  Boilermakers,  Black- 
smiths, Bookbinders,  Cloth  Hat  and  Cap  Makers.  Commer- 
cial Telegraphers,  Glass  Workers,  Hotel  and  Restaurant 
Employees,  Lace  Operatives,  Ladies'  Garment  Workers, 
Spinners,  and  Wood  Carvers.  In  the  building  trades  very 
few  local  unions  maintain  out-of-work  funds. 

39  Proceedings,  1901,  p.  92. 

40  Proceedings,  1901,  p.  91. 

41  The  Survey,  February  20,  1915,  p.  550. 

4-  Pattern  Makers'  Journal,  April,  1906,  p.  13. 
*3  Ibid.,  May,  1914,  p.  20. 

44  Ibid.,  May,  1908.  p.  3. 

45  The  Survey,  February  20,  191 5,  p.  550. 


UNEMPLOYMENT   INSURANCE  I45 

An  indirect  form  of  unemployment  benefit  is  the  exemp- 
tion of  those  who  are  out  of  work  from  the  payment  of 
dues  and  assessments.  This  rule  is  found  in  the  Black- 
smiths, Boilermakers,  Brewery  Workers,  Cigar  Makers, 
Diamond  Workers,  Glass  Workers,  Granite  Cutters,  Hat- 
ters, Iron  Holders,  Leather  Workers  on  Horse  Goods, 
Lithographers,  Locomotive  Firemen,  Machinists,  Metal  Pol- 
ishers, United  Mine  Workers,  Pattern  Makers,  Photo-En- 
gravers, Piano  and  Organ  Workers,  Pulp,  Sulphite  and 
Paper  Mill  Operatives,  Stove  Mounters,  and  Western  Fed- 
eration of  Miners.  In  other  unions,  such  as  the  Flint  Glass 
Workers  and  Printers,  where  the  members  are  taxed  in 
proportion  to  the  amount  of  their  wages,  the  unemployed 
are  automatically  freed  from  the  payment  of  dues. 

The  dues  of  those  unions  which  have  developed  strong 
beneficiary  systems  have  naturally  increased  with  the  intro- 
duction of  each  new  benefit,  and  in  some  cases  amount  to 
five  per  cent  of  the  members'  wages.  The  unemployed 
member  thus  finds  it  difficult  at  times  to  remain  in  good 
standing.  Moreover,  in  some  cases  those  who  have  been 
in  arrears  for  a  certain  number  of  weeks  are  excluded  from 
union  benefits.  On  account  of  these  circumstances  about 
twenty  national  unions  exempt  the  unemployed  from  pay- 
ment of  dues  so  that  they  can  be  retained  as  members  and 
be  entitled  to  the  various  benefits. 

The  general  character  of  these  provisions  is  much  the 
same.  The  Iron  Molders  exempt  unemployed  members 
from  payment  of  dues  for  a  period  of  not  exceeding  thir- 
teen weeks  in  any  one  year.  Those  who  have  paid  dues  for 
the  preceding  six  months  are  entitled  to  this  exemption.** 
This  rule  was  adopted  in  October,  1897,  and  to  the  first  of 
January,  191 5,  the  cost  of  the  system  was  $316,168.*^ 

The  United  Mine  Workers,  on  account  of  seasonal  unem- 
ployment in  the  trade,  exempt  members  from  the  payment 
of  dues  when  unemployed.     A  member  who  has  been  idle 


^6  Constitution,  IQ12,  art.  18,  sec.  i. 
*7  Holders'  Journal,  February,  1915,  p.  112. 
10 


146      UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

for  one  month  is  excused  from  payment  of  all  dues  until  he 
again  obtains  employment.*®  The  Granite  Cutters  provide 
that  any  member  in  good  standing  who  is  unemployed  shall 
be  exempted  from  one-half  of  the  regular  dues.*^  The 
Metal  Polishers  excuse  members  who  are  unemployed  from 
the  payment  of  dues  for  three  months  after  four  weeks  of 
idleness.^" 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  out-of-work  benefit  is  one  of 
the  devices  by  which  trade  unions  protect  the  standard  rate 
and  the  working  conditions  by  relieving  members  of  the 
necessity  of  accepting  less  favorable  terms  aind  conditions, 
it  is  difficult  to  understand  why  the  out-of-work  benefit  is 
not  more  widely  used.  In  the  greater  number  of  unions 
the  officers  are  staunch  advocates  of  the  system,  and  there  is 
no  more  ardent  supporter  of  out-of-work  benefits  than 
President  Gompers  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor. 
At  the  New  York  convention  of  the  American  Federation 
of  Labor  in  1898,  the  delegates  went  on  record  as  endorsing 
the  payment  of  the  benefit  and  urged  all  affiliated  unions  to 
establish  such  a  system. ^^ 

Two  reasons  can  be  stated  for  the  slight  development  of 
the  out-of-work  benefit  in  American  trade  unions ;  first,  the 
unwillingness  of  the  average  union  member  to  acquiesce  in 
the  necessary  increase  of  dues ;  and  second,  the  apparent 
inadequacy  of  the  administrative  agencies  of  the  union  to 
secure  a  just  distribution  of  the  benefit. 

The  first  of  these  hindrances  to  the  establishment  of  the 
out-of-work  benefit  needs  little  comment.  The  average 
workingman  joins  a  trade  union  chiefly  from  the  desire  to 
carry  a  union  card  and  participate  in  the  better  conditions 
secured  by  the  union.  The  matter  of  benefits,  and  espe- 
cially out-of-work  benefits,  is  of  secondary  importance. 
He  wants  to  be  a  member  of  the  union,  but  he  also  wants 
the  dues  to  be  as  small  as  possible. 

*8  Constitution,  1914,  art.  14,  sec.  23. 
4^  Constitution,  1912,  sec.  134. 
^°  Constitution,  1913,  art.  17,  sec.  3. 
^1  Proceedings,  1899,  p.  5677. 


UNEMPLOYMENT   INSURANCE  I47 

The  second  hindrance  grows  chiefly  out  of  the  personal 
acquaintance  of  the  local  union  officials  with  the  members. 
The  experience  of  the  Cigar  Makers,  and  for  that  matter, 
the  history  of  any  trade  union  benefit,  shows  that  there  are 
always  local  union  officials  who  pay  benefits  which  should 
not  have  been  paid.  The  disbursing  agencies  must  be  given 
considerable  discretion  in  determining  whether  or  not  the 
applicants  are  entitled  to  the  benefit.  Further,  the  local 
officials  seem  unable  to  deal  strictly  with  a  member  who 
abandons  a  job  on  plausible  grounds.  The  experience  of 
the  New  York  local  union  of  the  Typographical  Union  with 
an  out-of-work  benefit  may  be  cited.  A  member  of  that 
organization  writes :  "  We  found  that  a  number  of  men 
each  year  drew  the  full  amount  that  was  permitted  them 
under  the  laws  regulating  the  fund,  and  that  these  men  could 
best  be  described  as  '  panhandlers.'  The  abuses  in  our  case 
eventually  became  so  flagrant  that  the  fund  was  abolished 
upon  the  report  of  an  investigating  committee  to  the  effect 
that  the  majority  of  the  beneficiaries  of  the  fund  belonged 
to  this  dissolute  class. "^^  The  unions  have  specifically  set 
forth  in  the  rules  on  the  subject  the  manner  in  which  the 
benefit  systems  are  to  be  administered  and  the  various  con- 
ditions under  which  the  unemployed  members  shall  become 
entitled  to  the  benefit.  The  systems  generally  have  been 
well  planned  but  poorly  administered. 

Since  the  establishment  by  Great  Britain  of  a  compre- 
hensive insurance  plan  some  of  the  American  trade  union 
officials  have  inaugurated  campaigns  for  the  adoption  of  a 
similar  scheme  by  this  government. °^  Inasmuch  as  the  con- 
census of  opinion  among  recent  writers  on  the  subject  is  in 
favor  of  utilizing  the  trade  union  in  a  scheme  of  govern- 
ment insurance,^*  it  is  not  surprising  that  American  repre- 
ss A.  J.  Portenar,  Problems  of  Organized  Labor,  p.  73. 
^^  The  text  of  the  British  Insurance  Act  is  contained  in  Bulletin 
of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Labor,  No.  102. 

''*  L  G.  Gibbon,  Unemployment  Insurance,  p.  251  ;  Cyril  Jackson, 
Unemployment  and  Trade  Unions,  p.  29;  Henry  R.  Seager,  "  Outline 
of  a  Program  of  Social  Legislation,"  in  Proceedings  of  the  first 
Annual  Meeting  of  the  American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation, 
1907,  p.  87. 


148       UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE    UNIONS 

sentatives  of  organized  labor  demand  that  the  trade  unions 
should  be  given  the  right  to  administer  the  benefit  among 
their  own  members. ^^ 

We  have  seen  that  three  national  unions  have  established 
unemployment  benefits,  that  a  few  more  have  provided 
emergency  relief  funds  for  those  out  of  work,  and  that  a 
small  percentage  of  the  local  unions  have  regular  benefits 
for  the  unemployed.  Under  such  conditions  one  might  ex- 
pect to  find  the  average  unemployed  trade  unionist  in  as 
bad  a  predicament  as  the  unemployed  non-unionist.  But 
such  is  by  no  means  the  case.  There  is  scarcely  one  Ameri- 
can local  union  which  does  not  in  some  form  or  other 
contribute  towards  the  support  of  its  unemployed  members 
when  they  are  in  need  of  assistance.  A  member  out  of 
work  is  rarely  turned  away  from  the  union  without  receiv- 
ing some  assistance.  In  some  cases  it  may  take  the  form  of 
a  loan  of  a  few  dollars,  but  his  union  will  rarely  allow  him 
to  suffer  from  want.  The  usual  procedure  is  for  a  friend 
of  the  unemployed  to  announce  at  a  meeting  of  the  local 
union  that  a  brother  member  is  unemployed  and  in  need  of 
money  to  pay  the  rent  and  secure  the  necessities  of  life. 
With  scarcely  any  further  remarks,  the  union  votes  to  do- 
nate a  sum  of  money  to  the  member.  In  other  cases  the 
local  union  sets  aside  a  certain  sum  of  money  for  the  relief 
of  the  unemployed,  and  appoints  a  committee  which  has 
complete  control  over  the  granting  of  aid. 

Frequently  the  unions,  in  periods  of  general  business  de- 
pression, maintain  relief  agencies  for  their  unemployed.  In 
191 5  some  two  hundred  Jewish  trade  unions  of  New  York 
City  opened  headquarters  on  the  lower  East  Side  and  gave 
out  groceries  to  their  unemployed  members.^*'  From  January 
I  to  May  I  of  the  same  year,  the  bricklayers'  local  union 
of  Toronto,  Ontario,  donated  372  baskets  of  groceries  and 

^^  G.  W.  Perkins,  in  American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  June, 
1913,  p.  236;  T.  J.  Dolan,  in  the  Steam  Shovel  and  Dredge  Man, 
April,  1915,  p.  380;  Proceedings  of  the  Massachusetts  Federation  of 
Labor.  1915. 

^^  The  American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  November,  1915, 
p.  104. 


UNEMPLOYMENT   INSURANCE  I49 

many  tons  of  coal  to  their  unemployed  members.^^  Of 
course,  these  relief  agencies  are  marked  with  the  stigma  of 
charity  and  consequently  only  those  who  are  in  dire  need 
apply  to  them.  The  system  is  far  from  ideal.  The  un- 
employed are  assisted  only  when  they  are  in  great  need,  and 
those  who  have  been  fortunate  and  wise  enough  to  save  for 
the  days  of  unemployment  do  not  receive  any  aid  from  the 
system.  But,  as  one  trade  unionist  said,  "  It  is  better  than 
that  provided  for  the  non-unionist." 

The  effectiveness  of  even  so  crude  a  system  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  union  members  are  rarely  found  among  the 
applicants  to  organized  charities.  Those  associated  with 
charity  organizations  adequately  appreciate  the  valuable 
social  services  performed  by  the  trade  unions.  A  writer  on 
the  subject  says,  "  Charity  workers  testify  to  the  fact  that 
during  business  depressions  when  the  unemployed  must  be 
cared  for  by  the  thousands,  scarcely  a  single  member  of  a 
trade  union  has  applied  for  relief  either  to  the  cities  or  to 
philanthropic  organizations."^^  The  Secretary  of  the  United 
Charities  of  vSt.  Paul,  Minnesota,  stated  that  in  1914-1915 
"  The  trade  unions  with  their  benefit  features  have  been  the 
saving  grace  in  the  situation  here."^^  In  December,  191 3, 
the  city  of  Seattle,  Washington,  provided  special  work  for 
the  unemployed,  and  of  the  1300  men  who  applied  for  work 
only  six  were  members  of  trade  unions.^"  The  chairman  of 
the  relief  work  in  Chicago  during  the  severe  season  of  1893- 
1894  reported  that  not  a  single  member  of  a  trade  union  in 
that  city  applied  for  aid  either  to  the  city  or  to  the  philan- 
thropic organizations.*"'^ 

As  further  proof  of  this  fact,  the  report  of  the  Com- 
mission  of    Industrial   Relations   may   be   quoted:   "It    is 

^^  The  Bricklayer,  Mason  and  Plasterer,  May,  1915,  p.  104. 

58  Adna  F.  Weber,  quoted  in  the  Bricklayer  and  Mason,  January, 
1902,  p.  7. 

^"  Quoted  in  the  American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  November, 
1915,  p.  589. 

''"  Associated  Press  Dispatch. 

«i  Bulletin  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Labor,  Number  22, 
May,  1899,  p.  400. 


150      UNEMPLOYMENT   AND   AMERICAN    TRADE   UNIONS 

significant  that  trade  union  members  are  practically  never 
found  among  the  applicants  for  charity  during  periods  of 
unemployment.  They  may  be  unemployed,  but  they  are 
in  some  way  cared  for,  either  by  having  v^ork  found  for 
them,  or  by  systematic  or  voluntary  relief ."^^  With  but  few 
exceptions,  those  applying  to  charitable  organizations  as 
union  members  are  found  to  be  expelled  members  or  in 
arrears  with  their  dues.*'^ 

62  Final  Report  of  the  Commission  on  Industrial  Relations,  191S, 
p.  175. 

63  Mr.  C.  C.  Rohr,  a  member  of  the  Economic  Seminary  of  Johns 
Hopkins  University,  in  1911-1912  made  an  investigation  of  500  cases 
of  the  Federated  Charities  of  Baltimore  City.  The  Charity  records 
showed  that  of  the  500  applicants  19  were  members  of  trade  unions. 
Upon  investigation,  however,  nine  of  these  were  found  never  to  have 
been  associated  with  any  union.  And  of  the  remaining  ten  only  two 
were  union  members  in  good  standing  at  the  time  when  the  period 
of  unemployment  began.  One  of  these  was  unable  to  live  upon  the 
strike  benefits  of  his  union,  and  the  other  was  a  member  of  a  local 
union  on  strike  which  had  expended  its  entire  strike  fund. 


NDEX 


American  Federation  of  Labor, 
15,  51,  52,  53>  70,  93.  123,  130, 
1377I38,  146. 

American  Tinplate  Company, 
119. 

Apprenticeship,  36-37. 

Bakers  and  Confectioners  of 
Chicago,  62. 

Bakery  and  Confectionery 
Workers'  International  Union, 
64,  67,  84,  120,  124,  140,  143. 

Balsinger,  President,  84. 

Barbers'  International  Union, 
Journeymen,  64. 

Barnes,  Charles  E.,  22- 

Barnett,  George  E.,  44,  108,  124 
(note),  140  (note). 

Benefits.     See  Insurance. 

Beveridge,  W.  H.,  19. 

Blacksmiths  and  Helpers,  In- 
ternational Brotherhood  of, 
59,  67,  84,  123,  144,  145. 

Boilermakers,  Iron  Shipbuilders 
and  Helpers  of  America,  In- 
ternational Brotherhood  of, 
IS,  60,  123,  129.  144,  145. 

Bookbinders,  International 
Brotherhood  of,  82,  87,  91, 120, 

144. 
Boot  and  Shoe  Workers'  Union, 

87,  120,  141,  143. 
Boston  Free  Employment  Office, 

Brandeis,  Louis  D.,  113. 

Brass  and  Composition  Metal 
Workers,  Polishers,  and  Buf- 
fers, United   Brotherhood   of, 

59- 

Brewery  Workmen,  Interna- 
tional Union  of  the  United,  39, 
42,  64,  67,  108,  121,  122,  129, 
141,  143,  145. 

Bricklayers,  Masons  and  Plas- 
terers, International  Union  of, 
17,  42,  54,  65,  84,  86,  87,  88,  90, 
91,  102. 


Bridge  and  Structural  Iron 
Workers,  International  Asso- 
ciation of,  40,  52,  60,  65,  84,  86, 
87,  89,  90,  93. 

Business  agent,  58  ff;  salary  of, 
59;  duties  of,  60;  why  em- 
ployers apply  to,  62-63  ;  one  of 
the  union  members,  64. 

"  Calling  around,"  66. 

Cards,  interchange  of,  42-43. 

Carpenters  and  Joiners,  United 
Brotherhood  of,  40,  42,  52,  59, 
65,  86,  87,  88,  107,  139- 

Carter,  President,  82,  107. 

Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy 
Strike,  82. 

Chicago,  Rock  Island  and  Pa- 
cific Railway,  123 

Cigar  Makers,  International  Un- 
ion of,  32,  58,  67,  69,  86,  90,  94, 
102,  103,  104,  130,  134,  135,  139, 
145,  147- 

Cloth  Hat  and  Cap  Makers, 
United,  no,  115,  126,  144. 

Commercial  Telegraphers, 
Brotherhood  of,  42,  120,  144. 

Commisison  of  Industrial  Rela- 
tions, 149. 

Coopers,  International  Union  of, 
87,  120. 

Crown,  Cork  and  Seal  Opera- 
tives, 123. 

Diamond     Workers'     Protective 

Union,  130,  I35-I37,  145- 
Dismissal  of  workmen,  123  fif. 
Dobbins,  Secretary,  96. 
Dobson,  Secretary,  17  (note),  85. 
Dovetailing  of  trades,  30-31. 
Drawing  of  lots,  68. 
Drayer,  Secretary,  86. 
Duffy,  Secretary,  139. 
Duncan,  President,  52,  56,  96. 
Dunderdale,   Superintendent,  71. 

Efficiency  of  Workmen,  125-126. 


J51 


152 


INDEX 


Electrical  Workers,  Interna- 
tional Union  of,  15,  37,  38,  60, 
84,  89,  93,  108. 

Emergency  funds,  138. 

Employment,  distribution  of,  109 
ff. ;  ways  of  distributing,  109- 
124;  conditions  eflfecting  un- 
ion policies  toward,  125-128; 
union  objections  to,  128-129. 

Employment,  subsidiary,  20-21 ; 
varies  with  the  trade,  31 ; 
through  help  of  fellow-work- 
men, 64;  through  advertise- 
ments, 73-74. 

Employment  bureaus,  public,  69 
ff . ;  state,  69;  employers,  73; 
religious  and  charitable,  73. 

Employment  bureaus,  union,  57 
ff . ;  need  of,  varies,  58;  agen- 
cies for  securing  help,  58; 
methods  of  choosing  work- 
men, 67  ff. 

"  Five  day  "  rule,  123-124. 

"  Fliers,"  76. 

Flint  Glass  Workers'  Union, 
American,  17,  19,  30,  39,  40,  42, 
64,  78,  86,  87,  92,  94,  96,  103, 
104,  no,  117,  123,  128,  138,  145. 

Fluctuation,  19  ff. ;  remedies  for, 
29-31. 

Furuseth,  President,  70. 

Garland,  President,  84,  119. 

Garment  Workers'  Union,  La- 
dies, 42,  58,  no,  112,  123,  126, 
144. 

Garment  Workers,  United,  42, 
58,  87,  no.  n4. 

Glass  Bottle  Blowers'  Associa- 
tion, 16,  42,  76,  119,  123,  138. 

Glass  Workers'  International 
Association,  Amalgamated,  122, 
144,  145- 

Glove  Workers'  Union,  Interna- 
tional, no,  115. 

Gompers,  Samuel,  52,  53,  70,  95, 
131,  146. 

Granite  Cutters'  International 
Association,  52,  54,  56,  75,  87, 
94,  95,  103,  140,  145,  146. 

Hatters      of      North      America, 

United,  66,  67,  no,  115,  145. 
Hayes,  President,  77,  120. 


Hays,  Secretary,  83. 

Hotel  and  Restaurant  Em- 
ployees' International  Alliance, 
72,  144- 

Hurst,  President,  131. 

Iffland,  Secretary,  143. 

Illinois  Free  Employment 
Agency,  71. 

Indiana  Typographical  Confer- 
ence, 88. 

Industrial  depressions,  effect  of, 
28-29. 

Insurance,  national  unions  hav- 
ing, 130-141 ;  systems  in  local 
unions,  141-144;  indirect  form 
of,  145-146;  reasons  for  not 
having,  146-147 ;  campaigns 
for  government,  147. 

Iron,  Steel  and  Tin  Workers, 
Amalgamated  Association  of, 
84,  no,  118,  123,  140. 

Journals,  86  ff. 

Kelley,  President,  49,  51. 
Kunzler,  Secretary,  96. 

Labor  supply,  methods  of  ad- 
justing, 75-76;  sj'stems  in  dif- 
ferent unions,  76-90;  failure 
to  solve  problems,  90-92;  hin- 
drances in  the  movement  of, 
107. 

Lace  Operatives,  Chartered  So- 
ciety of  the  Amalgamated,  120, 

144. 

Lathers,  International  Union  of 
Wood,  Wire  and  Metal,  86. 

Laundry  Workers'  International 
Union,  120. 

Lawlor,  Martin,  67  (note),  115. 

Lawrence,  Vice-President,  88. 

Leather  Workers  on  Horse 
Goods,  United  Brotherhood 
of,  83,  87,  94,  99,  103,  104,  120, 
145- 

Lithographers'  International  Pro- 
tective and  Beneficial  Associa- 
tion, 15,  58,  64,  67,  79,  88,  94, 
100,  120,  126,  140,  143,  145. 

Lloyd,  President,  139. 

Locomotive  Engineers,  Grand 
International  Brotherhood  of, 
45. 


INDEX 


153 


Locomotive  Firemen  and  En- 
ginemen,   Brotherhood   of,   81, 

145- 
Lots,  drawing  of,  68. 
Lynch,  President,  45,  83,  88,  140. 

McGuire,  P.  J.,  52,  139. 

Machinists,  International  Asso- 
ciation of,  39,  40,  47,  59,  60,  67, 
94,  99,  103,  123,  129,  145. 

Maintenance  of  Way  Employees, 
International  Brotherhood  of, 
42. 

Marble  Workers,  International 
Association  of,  92. 

Maryland  Federation  of  Labor, 
71. 

Massachusetts  Bureau  of  Sta- 
tistics, 12,  21,  25. 

Massachusetts  Employment  Bu- 
reau, 72. 

Membership,  limited,  35-36. 

Metal  Polishers,  Buffers,  Plat- 
ers, Brass  Molders  and  Brass 
and  Silver  Workers,  Interna- 
tional Union  of,  15,  54,  59,  120, 
123,  141,  145,  146. 

Miller,  Secretary  Hugo,  loi,  135. 

Mine  Workers,  United,  42,  67, 
no. 

Miners,  Western  Federation  of, 
42,  no,  145. 

Mitchell,  John,  in. 

Molders'  Union,'  International, 
15,  59.  86,  120,  123,  129,  145. 

Murphy,  President,  38,  108. 

NeviT  England  Typographical 
Union,  88. 

New  Hampshire  Bureau  of  La- 
bor, 14. 

New  York  Department  of  La- 
bor, 10,  13  (note),  14  (note), 
21,  25,  32. 

New  York  Public  Employment 
Bureau,  71. 

Normal  day,  shortening  of,  50- 
53- 

Northern  Pacific  Railroad.  45- 
46. 

O'Connell,  President,  51,  100. 
Out-of-work     list,     compulsory, 

67 ;  optional,  67. 
Output,  restriction  of,  46-50. 
Overtime,  regulation   of,  54-56. 


Painters,  Decorators,  and  Paper- 
hangers,  Brotherhood  of,  16, 
42,  52,  60,  87,  88.  91,  101,  107, 
140. 

Paper  Makers,  International 
Brotherhood  of,  120. 

Pattern  Makers'  League,  17,  21, 
28,  59,  60,  62,  67,  81,  120,  123, 
140,  144,  145. 

Perkins,  President,  104. 

Permit  system,  37-41 ;  effect  on 
transference  of  workmen,  108. 

Pfeiffer,  Secretary,  84. 

Photo-Engravers'  Union,  Inter- 
national, 36,  54,  64,  67,  79,  87, 
120,  141,  144,  145. 

Piano,  Organ  and  Musical  In- 
strument Workers'  Interna- 
tional Union,  145. 

Plasterers'  International  Asso- 
ciation, Operative,  40,  42,  86. 

Plumbers,  Gas  Fitters,  Steam 
Fitters  and  Steam  Fitters 
Helpers'  United  Association 
of  Journeymen,  15,  37,  41,  48, 
51,  86,  102,  140. 

Potters,  International  Brother- 
hood of  Operative,  15,  64,  80, 
116,  141. 

Prescott,   President,    139-140. 

Printers.  See  Typographical 
Union. 

Proebstle,  39  (note),  122.  143 
(note). 

Pulp,  Sulphite  and  Paper  Mill 
Workers,  International  Broth- 
erhood of,  145. 

Railroad  Telegraphers,  Order 
of,  42. 

Railroad  Trainmen.  Brotherhood 
of,  82. 

Railway  Carmen,  Brotherhood 
of,  42. 

Railway  Conductors,  Brother- 
hood of,  82. 

Rock  Island  Federated  Trades, 
123. 

Rotation  of  workers,  120-123. 

Rowe,  President,  40. 

Sanitary  Manufacturing  Potters' 

Association,   116. 
Seamen's    Union,    International. 

Sears,  Mr.,  71. 


154 


INDEX 


Seniority  rights,  43-46;  objec- 
tions to,  44;  defense  of,  44- 
45 ;  effect  on  transferring  of 
workmen,  107. 

Sheet  Metal  Workers'  Interna- 
tional Alliance,  Amalgamated, 
67,  86,  88,  123. 

Sheppard,  President,  82. 

"  Shop  collector,"  64. 

Short,  President.  41. 

Short-time,  working  of,   iiofif. 

"  Six-day-law,"  55,  124. 

Skemp.  Secretary,  16  (note),  91. 

Smith,  President,  117. 

Spinners'    Union,    International, 

54.  144. 

Stationary  Firemen,  Interna- 
tional Brotherhood  of,  42. 

Statistics,  9  flf. ;  sources  of,  10; 
of  New  York  Department  of 
Labor,  12;  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Bureau,  12-14;  of  New 
Hampshire  Bureau  of  Labor, 
14;  reasons  for  failure  to  col- 
lect, 14-15 ;  unions  that  col- 
lect, 15-20;  factors  overlooked 
in,  20-21  ;  conclusions  drawn 
from,  23  ff. 

Steam  Engineers,  International 
Union  of,  42. 

Steam,  Hot  Water  and  Power 
Pipe  Fitters  and  Helpers,  In- 
ternational Association  of,  36, 
41- 

Steam  Shovel  and  Dredge  Men, 
International  Brotherhood  of, 

Stcne  Cutters'  Association, 
Journeymen,  81,  86. 

Stove  Mounters'  International 
Union,  84,  120.  145. 

Strasser,  President,  131 

Street  and  Electric  Railway  Em- 
ployees. Amalgamated  Asso- 
ciation of,  120. 

Tailors'  National  Union,  Jour- 
neymen, no,  114. 

Teamsters,  International  Broth- 
erhood of,  42,  59. 

Textile  Workers,  United,  no, 
115. 

Trades,  dovetailing  of,  30-31. 

Traveling,  statistics  of.  25 ;  ex- 
penses for,  93. 

Traveling  loans,   failure  of.  94; 


national  unions  having,  95- 
102 ;  local  unions  having,  102- 
103 ;  cost  of,  104. 

Typographia,  Deutsch-Ameri- 
kanische,  64,  84,  94,  loi,  103, 
104,  130,  133,  134,  135,  139. 

Typographical  Association  of 
New  York  City,  141-142. 

Typographical  Union,  Interna- 
tional, 43,  44.  47,  55,  67,  71,  87, 
88,  102,  108,  124,  129,  139,  140, 
141,  142.  145.  147. 

Unemployment,  in  dififerent  lo- 
calities, 23  ff. ;  relative  volume 
and  character  of,  28;  methods 
of  relieving,  29;  remedies  for 
seasonal,  31  ;  union  theory  of. 
34  ff. 

Unions,  realizing  benefit  of  sta- 
tistics, 15 ;  methods  of  reliev- 
ing unemployment,  29;  atti- 
tude toward  amount  of  work. 
34;  importance  of  headquar- 
ters of,  65;  methods  of  adjust- 
ing labor  supply,  76  ff . ;  failure 
to  solve  problem  of  transfer- 
ring members,  90 ;  paying 
traveling  loans,  94;  policy 
toward  distribution  of  em- 
ployment, 109  ff. ;  conditions 
effecting  policj^  of,  125;  objec- 
tions to  distribution  of  em- 
ployment, 128-129 ;  relief  agen- 
cies in,  148. 

LTnited  States  Potters'  Associa- 
tion, 116. 

Universal  Card  System,  43. 

V'oitle.  President,  39. 

Watch  Case  Engravers'  Interna- 
tional Association,  123. 

Vi'hite  Rats  Actors'  Union,  94, 
98.  103. 

Wilson,  James,  21  (note),  22,  81 
(note). 

W'isconsin  State  Federation  of 
Labor,  15.  50  (note). 

Woll,  President,  54,  80. 

Wood  Carvers'  Association.  In- 
ternational,  16.  86.  144. 

"  Work   fund  "  theory.  35.  42. 

Workmen,  dismissal  of,  123  ff. ; 
efficiency  of.  125-126. 


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Early  Diplomatic  Relations 

BETWEEN 

the  United  States  and  Mexico 

By  WILLIAM  R.  MANNING,  Ph.D. 
Adjunct  Professor  of  Latin-American  History  in  the  University 

of  Texas 

418  pages.     Cloth,  $2.25 

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Mexico.  

Early  Diplomatic  Relations 

BETWEEN 

the  United  States  and  Japan 

1853=1865 
By  PAYSON  J.  TREAT 

Pfofessor  of  Far  Eastern  History  in  Leland  Stanford 
Junior  University 

468  pages.  12mo.  Cloth,  $2.50 

Questions  of  foreign  policy  are  of  course  beginning  to  attract 
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past.  The  present  volume  gives  the  historical  foundations  of 
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character  will  do  much  to  promote  a  better  understanding  of  the 
present-day  relations  between  the  two  countries. 


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Four  Phases  of  American 
Development 

FEDERALISM-  DEMOCRACY-  IMPERIALISM-  EXPANSION 

By  JOHN  BASSETT  MOORE,  LL.D. 

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due.  The  order  in  which  the  several  topics  are  discussed  is  not  intended  to  de- 
note a  strict  chronological  succession;  hence  they  are  described  as  phases  rather 
than  as  stages  of  development.  While  federalism,  democracy  and  imperialism 
give  a  dominant  impress  to  successive  periods,  yet  expansion  has  characterized 
the  entire  course  of  American  history.  The  misapprehension  so  widely  enter- 
tained, that  imperialism  began  with  the  war  with  Spain  is  corrected.  The  im- 
perialistic tendency,  observable  from  the  beginning,  is  shown  to  have  assumed 
a  specially  pronounced  form  in  the  Civil  War  and  in  the  measures  of  national 
self-preservation  to  which  that  great  conflict  gave  rise. 


The  Diplomacy  of  theWar  of  1812 

By  FRANK  A.  UPDYKE,  Ph.D. 

504  Pages.       Cloth,  $2.50 

The  author  carefully  analyzes  the  diplomatic  correspondence  in  regard  to 
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The  protests  against  interference  with  neutral  trade  made  by  Presidents  Jef- 
ferson and  Madison  have  an  unexpectedly  familiar  sound  today.  Then,  as 
now  the  United  States  was  the  principal  neutral  power  in  a  war  which  in- 
volved all  Europe.  The  causes  of  the  War  of  1812  are  clearly  set  forth.  The 
treaty  of  Ghent,  the  hundredth  anniversary  of  which  has  recently  been  cele- 
brated, is  the  central  theme  of  the  latter  half  of  the  volume.  The  negotiations 
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treaty  are  examined  as  well  as  the  questions  in  dispute  which  were  omitted, 
and  which  continued  to  disturb  the  relations  of  the  two  countries  for  many 
years.  In  the  concluding  chapter  each  of  these  disputed  questions  is  traced  to 
its  final  solution. 

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The  West  Florida  Controversy 
of  1798-1813 

A  Study  in  American  Diplomacy 

By  ISAAC  JOSLIN  COX 

Associate  Professor  of  History,  University  of  Cincinnati 

710  Pages.     12mo.    $3.00. 

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livered in  the  Johns  Hopkins  University  in  1912,  and  later  revised 
for  publication.  The  subject  involves  one  of  the  most  intricate  prob- 
lems in  American  history,  and  Professor  Cox  has  spared  no  pains 
in  searching  for  new  sources  of  information.  He  has  not  only 
availed  himself  of  the  collections  in  Washington  and  of  the 
material  in  the  Department  of  Archives  and  History  at  Jackson, 
Mississippi,  but  he  has  personally  searched  the  Archives  at  Seville 
and  Madrid. 

The  volume  deals  with  the  secret  intrigues  of  statesmen  and 
diplomats  in  the  capitals  of  America  and  Europe  on  the  one  hand, 
and  with  the  aggressive,  irresponsible  movements  of  impatient 
frontiersmen  on  the  other.  Professor  Cox  thinks  that  the  sturdy 
pioneers  of  the  Southwest  outstripped  the  diplomats,  and  that 
their  deeds  were  the  decisive  factors  in  the  settlement  of  the  long 
and  bitter  controversy  that  was  waged  over  West  Florida. 


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I 


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